Chinese Taipei boxer Lin Yu-ting in Olympics gender row into final after ‘tough journey’
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Chinese Taipei's Lin Yu-ting wins against Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey in their women's 57kg semi-final bout at the Paris Olympics.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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PARIS – Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting called it a “tough journey” after winning again on Aug 7 at the Paris Olympics, to ensure that the two boxers at the centre of a major gender controversy are both into their respective finals.
A day after Algeria’s Imane Khelif reached the women’s welterweight (66kg) gold-medal match, Lin claimed a unanimous points decision victory over Esra Yildiz Kahraman in her featherweight (57kg) semi-final.
After the fight, the Turk made an X sign with her fingers to the crowd, just like another of Lin’s beaten opponents had in a previous bout. Kahraman declined to say afterwards what it meant.
In most cases, males have both an X and Y chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes.
Lin and Khelif both fought at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but there was no controversy at the time and neither claimed a medal.
The duo were disqualified from the world championships in 2023 after failing the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) gender eligibility tests, but were cleared to compete in Paris by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“The feeling of entering the gold-medal match is one of gratitude to myself for making it this far,” said Lin, 28. “After going out in the first round in Tokyo, it’s been a tough journey to reach the final.”
A former two-time world champion, Lin was given a warm reception as she entered the arena at Roland Garros, usually home to Grand Slam tennis but hosting the closing stages of Olympic boxing.
The top seed enjoyed a clear height advantage over the more compact Kahraman and used her reach to pick off her Turkish opponent, who tried to make it a close-quarters brawl.
Having won the first round, Lin snapped Kahraman’s head back early in the second round, to “oohs” from the 15,000-capacity Court Philippe-Chatrier.
With two rounds in the bag, Lin just had to avoid serious trouble in the third, and she did that, the two fighters greeting each other at the bell and again as she exited the ring.
Lin also bowed to three sides of the stadium, to cheers and applause from the crowd.
She faces Poland’s Julia Szeremeta on Aug 10 for gold following her third victory in the French capital. By reaching the title decider, she is assured of at least silver.
Khelif fights China’s Yang Liu in the 66kg class on Aug 9.
The gender furore ignited when Khelif defeated Angela Carini in 46 seconds in her opening bout, with the Italian reduced to tears and abandoning the fight after suffering a badly hurt nose.
IBA president Umar Kremlev claimed at a chaotic press conference earlier in the week that both fighters had “genetic testing that shows that these are men”.
The IOC has leapt to the defence of Khelif and Lin, with president Thomas Bach saying they were born and raised as women, and have passports saying that. Neither is known to identify as transgender.
Both fighters have been strongly backed by authorities back home and top Taiwanese sports officials have also threatened to take legal action against the IBA following the press conference. AFP
