A second boxer who ‘failed a gender test’ has won her opening fight in the Olympics after being cleared to compete in the event amid an eligibility row.
Taiwan‘s Lin Yu-Ting put on a dominant display across three rounds at the North Paris Arena on Friday to storm to victory against Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan.
The 28-year-old showed off impressive striking and quick footwork to maintain dominance inside the ring and secure the unanimous decision victory.
Afterwards, her opponent Turdibekova was overcome with emotion and could not hold back the tears as they decision was read out inside the arena. The pair did not embrace or congratulate each other.
Lin is one of two boxers at the Games who were disqualified from the Women’s Boxing World Championships last year – with Algeria’s Imane Khelif win in the women’s welterweight event just 24 hours prior sparking an eligibility row.
Lin Yu-ting (pictured), who like Khelif was disqualified from the Women’s World Championships last year, won her opening bout in the women’s featherweight boxing event
Lin secured a unanimous decision win over Sitora Turdibekova (right) at the North Paris Arena
Uzbekistan’s Turdibekova burst into tears inside the boxing ring after the score was read out
Lin’s bout comes one day after Algeria’s Imane Khelif, left, won the women’s welterweight bout when Angela Carini, right, abandoned it after 46 seconds
Khelif won her fight after just 46 seconds, which is when Italy’s Angela Carini opted to withdraw from the bout.
Carini was punched twice by Khelif in the opening round of their women’s welterweight bout in Paris.
The blows appeared to knock off the Italian boxer’s chin strap, with the fighter moving over to her corner.
Carini returned to the centre of the ring and abandoned the bout, leading to Khelif being declared as the winner.
The Italian boxer, who claimed before the fight that she could ‘only adapt to the rules of the Olympics‘, was then seen crying in the centre of the ring following the abrupt conclusion of the bout.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) – who have been stripped of recognition amid a series of governance issues – disqualified Khelif and Lin from the Women’s Boxing World Championships last year.
Lin had won the bronze medal, after winning three fights before losing in the semi-finals to Kazakhstan’s Karina Ibragimova.
The IBA later stripped Lin of the medal, with the organisation stating the boxer had failed to meet eligibility requirements.
The pair did not embrace or congratulate each other after the featherweight bout
The International Boxing Association, led by president Umar Kremlev, has disqualified both Lin and Khelif from the World Championships claiming they failed eligibility tests
The IBA said the tests were conducted at their World Championships in 2022 and 2023, with Lin not taking up the option to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
According to feminist website Reduxx, both are thought to be impacted by a Difference of Sexual Development (DSD), a series of medical conditions identified at birth where genitalia is atypical in relation to chromosomes.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) released a statement on Wednesday, stating their decisions were made ‘after a meticulous review’.
The IBA stated that neither athlete underwent testosterone exams, but were instead ‘subject to a separate and recognised test’ which were held at their World Championships in 2022 and 2023.
It is claimed the tests ‘conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria’, with both boxers ‘found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.’
The IBA hit out at the IOC, stating its differing regulations ‘raise serious questions about both competitive fairness and athletes’ safety.’
Lin triumphed at the Asian Games last year to secure a place at a second Olympic Games
The IBA are not responsible for the Olympic competition having been stripped of recognition by the IOC amid ongoing governance issues – with the organisation establishing the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit to run the event.
The IOC then, Friday, delivered a similarly strongly worded statement in response: ‘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 set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.
‘Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process. According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO.’
They added: ‘The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years,’ the statement continued.
The IOC released a statement that said: ‘All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations’
The Boxing Unit has approved both boxers participation under rules in place for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which are less strict than the IBA’s.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams had warned against a ‘witch hunt’ against the two boxers cleared to compete in Paris and criticised misreporting, stressing the cases are not a transgender issue.
Adams had urged the rhetoric to be ‘dialled down’, adding that the ‘entirely comfortable with the rules’ which had previously been used at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Two-time world and Asian Championships gold medallist Yu-Ting, who is reported to have 40 wins and 14 losses in their amateur career, was classed as the top seed heading into the event.
