Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan clinches first Olympic medal amid outcry tied to gender misconceptions

VILLEPINTE, France (AP) — Boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan clinched her first Olympic medal Sunday in front of a crowd that chanted her name, one day after fellow boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria secured one as well following days of online abuse and intense scrutiny about their participation at the Paris Games.

Lin defeated Svetlana Kamenova Staneva of Bulgaria 5:0 in a women’s 57-kilogram quarterfinal, advancing to the semifinals and ensuring she will win at least a bronze medal.

Lin and Khelif have been at the center of a clash over gender identity and regulations in sports, as critics have brought up their disqualification from the world championships last year after the banned International Boxing Association claimed they failed unspecified eligibility tests for women’s competition.

Lin, who will face Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey at Roland-Garros on Wednesday, said her goal is to keep going and become a gold medalist. She did not mention any of the online scrutiny of the past few days and said that she shut down her social media before her first Olympic fight.

“I want to thank all the supporters from Taiwan,” she said.

Staneva appeared to walk past Lin immediately after the fight, but after the referee announced the decision and lifted Lin’s hand as the winner, Staneva went over and sat on the rope on her opponent’s side and opened the rope for Lin to step out.

Staneva, a 34-year-old amateur boxing veteran, lost a close fight to Lin in the semifinals of the 2023 world championships in India. The victory was changed to a no contest by the IBA, which claimed Lin had failed the unspecified eligibility test.

The IBA has been banned from Olympic participation since 2019 following years of criticism from the International Olympic Committee, including concerns over its administration of competitions and financial transparency. The IBA has declined to disclose any details about its tests, calling the information confidential.

Paris Olympics

The IOC has condemned what it called “hate speech” toward the boxers, and spokesman Mark Adams again defended them Sunday, strongly criticizing the IBA testing process that singled them out because “there were suspicions against them.”

“The whole process is flawed,” Adams said. “From the conception of the test, to how the test was shared with us, to how the tests have become public, is so flawed that it’s impossible to engage with it.”

Both Lin and Khelif have drawn support from their countries amid the outcry, which has included comments from former U.S. President Donald Trump, “Harry Potter” writer J.K. Rowling and others making false claims about them being men or transgender.

Khelif was showered with cheers throughout her emotional win over Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary on Saturday night. Many supporters at North Paris Arena were wrapped in Algerian flags and screaming her name. She wiped away tears when it was over and wept as she exited the arena.

Lin bowed to the crowd before and after Sunday’s bout, looking up at cheering supporters before embracing her coaches and exiting the ring.

She also got support from former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on social media Friday when Lin beat Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan 5:0 in her first fight.

“When I met boxer Lin Yu-ting, I saw an athlete who is fearless in the face of challenges, whether they come from inside or outside the ring,” Tsai wrote. “Today, when she represents Taiwan on the Olympic stage, we will be behind her & all the Taiwanese Olympians making us proud.”

Lin is competing in her second Olympics but did not win a medal in Tokyo in 2021. She’s a two-time world champion with the IBA (2018 and 2022). She’s competed in elite-level amateur boxing for a decade. Neither Lin nor Khelif, who’s 25 and a six-year veteran, had been sanctioned before last year’s world championships.

“There’s a whole range of reasons why we won’t deal with this,” Adams of IOC said of the testing. “Partly confidentiality. Partly medical issues. Partly that there was no basis for the test in the first place. And partly data-sharing of this is also highly against the rules, international rules.”

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