The fight was called off after just 46 seconds.

Italian boxer Angela Carini has withdrawn from her fight against Imane Khelif seconds into their Olympic welterweight bout, amid an ongoing row over the Algerian’s eligibility for the Games.

Khelif was declared the winner by the referee following Carini’s decision to abandon the bout after just 46 seconds.

Carini was punched twice by Khelif in the opening round of their women’s welterweight fight in Paris before withdrawing.

Khelif landed an early right hand on Carini and was then close to landing a series of punches in the opening exchange, with Carini raising her hand to the referee and having her headgear checked by her corner after it appeared to come loose.

After speaking briefly to her coaches, she returned to fight and was immediately caught by another right hand from Khelif.

Carini then raised her glove again to the referee, officially signalling her decision to withdraw from the fight.

Shortly after, the Italian fell to her knees in tears when the referee raised Khelif’s hand at the announcement of the official result.

The Algerian attempted to embrace the Italian twice but was dismissed, with Carini refusing to shake her opponent’s hand.

The Telegraph report that the Italian suffered a suspected broken nose in the fight, although this has not been confirmed.

Khelif’s participation in the Games is controversial, as the Algerian was disqualified from last year’s World Championships for failing gender eligibility tests.

Khelif was disqualified hours before her gold medal bout at the Championships in New Delhi after she failed to meet the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) eligibility criteria, with the BBC reporting that she failed a testosterone level test.

Reuters report that IBA president Umar Kremlev told Russian news agency TASS at the time that Khelif and Taiwan’s double world champion Lin Yu-ting, who was also disqualified, had “XY chromosomes”.

Those World Championships were organised by the IBA, which is no longer a federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Carini withdrew from her fight with Khelif (Image: Getty)

As a result, the boxing competition at the 2024 Olympics is being organised by another ad-hoc body, the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU), which approved both Khelif and Yu-ting to take part in the Games.

“All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations in accordance with rules 1.4 and 3.1 of the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit,” the IOC said in a statement.

“The PBU endeavoured to restrict amendments to minimise the impact on athletes’ preparation and guaranteeing consistency between Olympic Games.”

Speaking immediately after the fight, Carini said: “I have always honoured my country with loyalty. This time I didn’t succeed because I couldn’t fight anymore.

“So I put an end to the match.”

Khelif will now progress to the quarter-finals of the women’s welterweight competition, with the fight scheduled for Saturday against an opponent which is yet to be confirmed.