Fearing for her life, Italian boxer Angela Carini abandoned her Olympic opening bout Thursday against Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who last year failed an unspecified sex eligibility test to compete in the Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi.

After two hard blows, the second to her nose, Carini pulled out of Thursday’s match inside 46 seconds, handing the win in the 66-kg division to Khelif. “It could have been the match of a lifetime but I had to preserve my life as well in that moment,” Carini later told reporters through tears.