Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting secures Olympic medal after reaching semi-finals
Lin Yu-ting of Team Chinese Taipei reacts after winning the Women’s 57kg Quarter-final match against Svetlana Kamenova Staneva of Team Bulgaria on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting is certain of a medal after reaching the Olympic featherweight semi-finals in Paris, as the over her eligibility for the women’s boxing event continues.
Lin beat Svetlana Staneva of Bulgaria on Sunday (4 August) to guarantee herself at least a bronze medal. “I know all of Taiwan’s people are standing behind me and supporting me, and I will carry this energy to the end, she said, Sky News reported.
“Even though I won this match, doesn’t mean I can relax, I still need to work hard.”
Lin and Algerian welterweight Imane Khelif have been at the centre of a row about their eligibility, despite the fact they have met all the relevant regulations to compete in the women’s boxing events.
Both were disqualified from last year’s World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA), after failing to meet eligibility criteria. The IOC has questioned the validity of the tests carried out by the International Boxing Association (IBA) at the time.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that all boxers “comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations”. Nonetheless, Staneva’s coach Borislav Georgiev, has questioned Lin’s victory, saying: “I am indignant at the funfair taking place. They have decided to make them champions and that’s it.
“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,” he told BBC Sport.
IOC president Thomas Bach has defended both boxers at the centre of the controversy, saying that “there was never any doubt” that they have the right to compete in the Games, and spokesman Mark Adams has condemned the IBA’s tests.
“The whole process is flawed. 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,” Adams said.
The Russia-led IBA has been suspended by the IOC since 2019 because of concerns over its finances, governance, ethics, refereeing and judging.
Lin’s semi-final against Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman takes place on Wednesday (7 August).
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