Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan won a unanimous decision Friday against Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan in Olympic women’s boxing, the second fighter to advance in Paris despite being disqualified last year from the Women’s World Championships for failing sex tests.
Lin, 28, will move on to the women’s boxing quarterfinals in the 57-kilogram category after winning 5-0 in the three-round match.
The International Olympic Committee has come under fire for allowing Lin and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, both born men, to compete in women’s boxing after they were disqualified from the International Boxing Association’s 2023 Women’s World Championships.
The IOC has defended the competitors, saying they are “women on their passports” and have been competing in female boxing for years, including the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Taiwan, which competes in the Olympics as Chinese Taipei, cheered the boxer.
“President @ChingteLai said that the Taiwanese spirit never fears challenges,” said the Taiwan Presidential Official Spokesperson account in a Wednesday post on X. “#TeamTaiwan, including women’s boxing contestant Yu-ting Lin, has shown incredible strength, overcoming doubts to compete fairly on the world stage. Your determination inspires the nation!”
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Lin Yu-ting beats female opponent Sitora Turdibekova
— FairPlayForWomen (@fairplaywomen) August 2, 2024
Another male boxer who previously failed a female sex test wins convincingly against a woman. pic.twitter.com/l8P4ILQ6yy
IOC spokesman Mark Adams stressed Thursday that “this is not a transgender issue,” spurring speculation that the winning boxers may have a Difference in Sexual Development known as 46, XY, meaning they may have had ambiguous genitalia at birth but have internal testes and underwent male puberty.
The International Boxing Association said Wednesday it disqualified Khelif and Lin from last year’s Women’s World Championships for failing sex tests that were not based on testosterone levels.
“Point to note, the athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential,” said the association. “This test conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.”
The association’s president told the Russian news agency Tass last year that the two athletes took DNA tests and “it was proven that they have XY chromosomes.”
SEE ALSO: Olympics warns against ‘witch hunt’ as outrage builds over ‘men fighting women’
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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