Lin Yu-ting, an Olympic boxer embroiled in a gender-based dispute, emerged victorious in her debut match after the two-time gold winner Nicola Adams voiced her concerns about the controversy. Lin, along with Imane Khelif, have been under increased scrutiny concerning their participation in the Paris 2024 Olympics following their disqualification from the previous World Championships due to non-compliance with gender eligibility requirements.
Thursday saw Khelif emerge victorious within a 46-second duration against Angela Carini from Italy, sparking further debate after Carini admitted that she had never experienced a punch of that calibre before. Carini, however, has since expressed remorse for her reaction to withdrawing from the match, and told the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport that she was upset by the controversy. She also apologised to her opponent and stated that she respected the IOC’s decision to let them compete.
Despite the ongoing clouds of controversy, Lin Yu-ting won her inaugural Olympics bout on scores amid the gender storm. Lin, ranked top in the women’s featherweight category hailing from Taiwan, briefly rid herself of the drama, clinching a unanimous victory against Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan.
With one score of 29-28 and four scores of 30-27 favouring Lin, her match against Turdibekova paled in comparison to the clear mismatch from the previous day as the latter managed to breach her taller and more extended opponent’s defences.
However, Lin shined through with her clean fighting style and moved onto the quarter-final match against Bulgarian Svetlana Staneva, whose victory over Ireland’s Michaela Walsh was unanimously approved by all judges.
Interestingly, neither the crowd-favourite Lin nor Turdibekova paused to address the press after the fight. They shared a cordial handshake before the verdict was proclaimed, but such courtesies were absent post-announcement.
Nicola Adams, the dual Olympic flyweight champion, aired her apprehensions about individuals who experienced male puberty fighting against women—an issue for which neither Lin nor Khelif has provided definitive evidence.
Adams shared on platform X a comment regarding the injustice and danger posed by competitors in women’s boxing who were not biologically women at birth and had undergone male puberty. He highlighted the strenuous efforts it took for female boxing to become a part of the Olympic events.
In the past few years, Lin and Khelif have been active participants in women’s boxing games. However, in 2023, they were flagged by the International Boxing Association (IBA) for not fulfilling the eligibility criteria meant for women’s competitions. But as of June the previous year, the IBA’s authority over global boxing was revoked by the IOC who now oversees the sport in Paris. The IOC defended Lin and Khelif’s right to participate in the sport.
Indeed, in a shared statement released last Thursday evening, the IOC along with the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit confirmed that both contenders satisfied the requisite rules for participation. They rectified misleading information found in some reports and denounced the IBA’s decision to deem both athletes unfit for the World Championships last year, as arbitrary and devoid of due protocol.
Commenting further on the matter on Friday, IOC spokesperson, Mark Adams, admitted that the matter was convoluted, pointing out the lack of scientific or political consensus regarding it. He also emphasized the need for a comprehensive understanding and underlined the IOC’s readiness to act once such consensus is reached. Adams recalled instances of athletes having to undergo sex tests in their teenage years, describing the experience as disgraceful. He acknowledged the complexities of the situation and lamented the lack of a straightforward solution.