Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting became the second fighter at the centre of a Paris Olympics gender row to guarantee herself a medal after convincingly winning her quarter-final on Sunday. Lin, who together with Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is at the centre of a storm over their eligibility, defeated Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva on a unanimous points decision to reach the semi-finals of the women’s 57kg category. {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting celebrates after defeating Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva in their women’s 57kg quarter-final boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Photo: AP","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/06/5f45d875-b445-4381-9381-01d00e41075a_dc5031b4.jpg"} Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting celebrates after defeating Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva in their women’s 57kg quarter-final boxing match at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Photo: AP After a scrappy and tetchy fight, 34-year-old Staneva’s coach Borislav Georgiev held a piece of paper with the words: “I’m XX.
Save woman sport [sic].” In most cases, males have both an X and Y chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes. Despite the online abuse and speculation about her sex, with her second win of the tournament, 28-year-old Lin is certain to win a medal, as losing semi-finalists in boxing take home bronze.
Here’s what we know about her. Lin Yu-ting won a gold medal for her debut match {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Lin Yu-ting at a boxing match in 2022.
Photo: @boxing_ting/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/06/87129f9f-4d10-4d9a-903b-ab574850b6ee_d5ddab34.
jpg"} Lin Yu-ting at a boxing match in 2022. Photo: @boxing_ting/Instagram Lin, an amateur world champion, made her debut at the AIBA World Women’s Youth Championships in 2013. She won gold in Albena, Bulgaria, and has a 41-14 (1 KO) record overall, as per Independent.
The two-weight (bantamweight and featherweight) boxer uses the southpaw stance; some famous southpaw fighters are Joe Calzaghe, Marvin Hagler and Manny Pacquiao. She previously failed “gender eligibility” tests {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Lin Yu-ting on International Olympic Day in 2022.
Photo: @boxing_ting/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/06/1f21a436-27fd-4ff9-ba12-7105649baf28_bc474711.
jpg"} Lin Yu-ting on International Olympic Day in 2022. Photo: @boxing_ting/Instagram Lin and 25-year-old Khelif were disqualified from the 2023 world championships, run by the International Boxing Association (IBA), after failing gender eligibility tests, but were cleared to box in the French capital. They also competed at the Tokyo Games in 2021, but did not win medals.
Neither boxer is known to identify as transgender and the IBA said this week that the two boxers “did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test, whereby the specifics remain confidential”. Additionally, changing one’s gender is currently illegal in Khelif’s native Algeria. Lin is optimistic despite the controversies {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Lin Yu-ting is not known to identify as transgender despite recent controversies. Photo: @boxing_ting/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/06/96299d37-6e0c-4c79-a0e3-803bcb60f417_bc474711.jpg"} Lin Yu-ting is not known to identify as transgender despite recent controversies. Photo: @boxing_ting/Instagram Lin will face Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman on Wednesday in the semi-finals.
The Taiwanese boxer said she appreciated the support from people back home, where she has had the public backing of the government and fans. “I just know that everyone is cheering for me and I know that all the people in Taiwan are behind me and support me,” she said. The Olympics Boxing organisers have defended Lin {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"The International Olympic Committee organises the boxing competitions in Paris 2024, where Lin Yu-ting competes. Photo: @boxing_ting/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/06/174613a5-1449-456b-bc80-fe95bccf9c98_7390c88c.jpg"} The International Olympic Committee organises the boxing competitions in Paris 2024, where Lin Yu-ting competes. Photo: @boxing_ting/Instagram The boxing in Paris is organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which took over because of governance, financial and ethical issues at the IBA.
The IOC has leapt to the defence of Khelif and Lin, with president Thomas Bach on Saturday saying they were born and raised as women, and have passports saying that. Lin won her quarter-final over Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva in the women’s 57kg category on Sunday, which means she’s now guaranteed a medal, as losing semi-finalists take home bronze She and Khelif competed at the Tokyo Games in 2021 but did not win medals; neither boxer identifies as transgender, but previously failed ‘gender eligibility’ tests, though the IOC has defended them.
