Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) has become the second boxer at the centre of a gender eligibility row to be assured of an Olympic medal in Paris after a testy bout with her Bulgarian rival. The 28-year-old featherweight beat Svetlana Staneva by unanimous decision, but the fight was marred by controversy.
Staneva shook hands with Lin but made a cross with her fingers before leaving the arena, possibly indicating the double XX chromosome of a woman. Her coach, Borislav Georgiev, suggested Lin should not have been allowed to compete, stating: 'I'm not a medical person who should say if Lin could compete or not here, but when the test shows that he or she has the Y chromosome she should not be here.'
Lin is competing despite being banned from last year's world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) due to a mid-competition test allegedly showing she was ineligible for the female category. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has described the IBA's tests as lacking credibility. The IBA, led by Russian Umar Kremlev, has been stripped of its status as the sport's world governing body due to financial transparency failures and concerns over integrity.
Speaking to reporters after her win, Lin said she had cut herself off from social media for the Games and added: 'I know that all the Taiwanese people are behind me.' She will face Turkey's Esra Yildiz Kahraman in a semi-final on Wednesday, ensuring at least a bronze medal.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams confirmed receiving a letter from the IBA but reiterated that the test results were not legitimate. 'Those tests are not legitimate tests... the conception of the test, to how the test was shared, to how the test has become public is so flawed, that it's impossible to engage with it,' he said.
