Another Olympic boxer surrounded by gender controversy just had a dominating victory. Lin Yu‑ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) beat Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova in a unanimous decision Friday in the 57 kg round of 16. in dominated Turdibekova and displayed a clear and obvious athletic advantage, often pushing around Turdibekova with ease.
The Uzbekistan fighter was dejected by the loss, while Lin’s corner and fans in the French audience were raucous.
The International Boxing Association disqualified Lin at the March 2023 world championships over failure to meet gender eligibility requirements.
Lin, Taiwan’s double world champion, reportedly was denied a bronze medal at the event. Algeria’s Imane Khelif also was disqualified at the event for the same reason.
According to Reuters, IBA President Umar Kremlev told Russian outlet TASS at the time that the boxers had “XY chromosomes.” Males have XY chromosomes; females have XX chromosomes.
But the International Olympic Committee dropped the IBA as a governing body in June 2023 and put the IOC’s Paris 2024 Boxing Unit in charge. The Paris Boxing Unit’s rules have been described as more relaxed.
According to the Guardian, the IOC acknowledged in its internal system that Lin was “stripped of her bronze medal after failing to meet eligibility requirements based on the results of a biochemical test” and that Khelif was “disqualified just hours before her gold medal showdown against Yang Liu at the 2023 world championships in New Delhi, India, after her elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility criteria.”
Still, Lin and Khelif were allowed to box against women at the Paris Olympics.
Indeed, the Olympic women’s boxing category has dominated the headlines this week, particularly after Italy’s Angela Carini forfeited her Thursday bout against Khelif after just 46 seconds. Carini walked away after one big punch from the Algerian boxer.
The IOC has answered questions surrounding the issue, stating that “all athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations.”
Even after the shocking end to the fight between Khelif and Carini, the IOC expressed sadness but stood firmly in their decision to allow Khelif and Lin in the women’s category.
“The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving,” the IOC said in a statement Thursday, per ESPN. “Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.”
