Olympic boxer Lin Yu-Ting dominates as gender eligibility issue unfolds

PARIS – A second Olympic boxer at the center of the controversy over gender eligibility entered the ring at the Paris Games on Friday.

Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting won her opening bout in the women’s competition as the issue of gender and eligibility criteria continued to generate anger and confusion. Taking advantage of her length and quickness, the 1.70 meter Lin beat Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan on points via unanimous decision.

Lin and Imane Khelif of Algeria were disqualified from the 2023 world championships for allegedly failing to meet gender eligibility criteria at an event organized by the International Boxing Association (IBA).

But this week the IOC said the boxers met the criteria to compete at the Paris Games and highlighted that both boxers took part in the 2021 Tokyo Games. The IOC said the two boxers were victims of arbitrary decisions by the IBA, which disqualified Lin and Khelif after winning medals at the 2023 world championship.

For at least three rounds of boxing on Friday, the focus returned to the ring as Lin faced Turdibekova.

About a minute into the first round, Lin’s helmet fell off during an exchange with his opponent, revealing that his hair was tied into a bun on top of his head. After his trainer replaced Lin’s helmet, the fight resumed and Lin showed more aggression, suffocating the 5-6 Ubekistani with punches and winning the round on four of the five judges’ cards.

Turdibekova caught Lin with a solid right hand in the second round, and Lin responded with a barrage of punches and won the round on all five judges’ cards.

Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan (in red) fights Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan in the women’s 57kg round of 16 preliminary boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena in Villepinte on 2 August 2024. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN/ AFP via Getty Images)

Lin did not stop to talk to reporters after the fight. Neither did Turdibekova, who cried after the fight.

When it ended, the result was decisive: only one judge awarded a single round to the Uzbek fighter.

Outrage exploded on Thursday when Khelif won his opening fight at welterweight at 146 lbs. She only landed one punch – to the face of Italian Angela Carini, who gave up 46 seconds into the fight.

The outcome and the scene, with Carini crying inside the ring and after the fight, triggered a storm of outrage online. [autotag]Jake Paulo[/autotag]honorary coach of the US Olympic boxing team, called the situation “disgusting” in a post on his X account.

Yehlif is expected to fight Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Lin is scheduled to fight on Sunday against Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva in the quarterfinals.

For complete coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, visit USA TODAY Sports.

This article was originally published on MMA Junkie: Olympic boxer Lin Yu-Ting dominates as gender eligibility issue unfolds