Lin Yu-ting, the Olympic gold medallist at the centre of a gender row, made a swift return to the ring on Tuesday night, knocking out her opponent in just 94 seconds. The 29-year-old Taiwanese boxer, who won the women's featherweight title at the Paris Olympics last year, was competing at the Taiwan National Games.
Her Olympic victory sparked controversy after she had been disqualified from the 2023 World Championships for failing a gender eligibility test. Despite this, she fought in the women's 60kg division against 19-year-old university student Pan Yan-fei. Taiwanese media reported that Lin landed several head shots, leaving Pan short of breath, prompting the referee to halt the bout. Pan's coach threw in the towel, and the result was recorded as 'abandoned'.
Lin had been scheduled to compete at the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool last month but withdrew days before the event, with no explanation given. Meanwhile, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who also faced gender eligibility issues, has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over World Boxing's decision to exclude her from events without a preliminary genetic sex test.
Khelif, who won women's welterweight gold at the Paris Olympics, was banned from the 2023 World Championships by the International Boxing Association for allegedly not meeting gender criteria, but was cleared by the International Olympic Committee. After her Olympic victory, she stated: 'I am fully qualified to take part in this competition – I am a woman. I was born a woman, I've lived as a woman and I've competed as a woman.'
