Sex-disputed boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan advanced Wednesday to the Olympic gold-medal round in the women’s featherweight division, but Lin’s opponent got in the last jab.
Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman crossed her forefingers twice to make the letters “XX” after losing the bout to Lin, one of two Olympic boxers disqualified from last year’s International Boxing Association world championships after lab results found they were ineligible for women’s events.
Svetlana Staneva of Bulgaria also made the “XX” salute in the ring Sunday after losing to Lin in the women’s quarterfinals for the 126-pound category.
The silent but public protests came with women’s sports advocates outraged over the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow Lin and Algerian fighter Imane Khelif to compete in women’s boxing despite the 2023 disqualifications.
“Another woman loses her Olympic dream. Another protest. Enough is enough,” said Fair Play for Women on X.
Both Lin and Khelif will compete for Olympic gold after winning their semifinal matches in unanimous decisions at Stade Roland Garros in Paris.
BREAKING
— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) August 7, 2024
Taiwan’s Lin-Yu Ting has just defeated Türkiye’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman 5-0. This comes just days after @IBA_Boxing confirmed that Lin was previously disqualified for having XY chromosomes.
As she left the ring, Kahraman repeatedly made an “X” gesture at the crowd. https://t.co/1TfSfXHn6S pic.twitter.com/0RW3EM5pQt
The IOC has stood behind the boxers, saying they are “women on their passports” and have complied with the Olympic eligibility criteria for their sport, which does not include sex testing.
In a Monday statement, the IBA said the boxers agreed to undergo gender testing after “many complaints from coaches.” Lin did not challenge the results, while Khelif initially appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but the case was dropped.
IBA officials sent the lab findings to the IOC in May 2023, but a month later, the IOC dropped the association as its boxing authority over governance, financial and judging issues, meaning that the IBA has no role in the Paris Olympics.
Shortly after the testing was conducted, the IBA Board of Directors amended its rules to clarify that competitions “will be conducted only between male athletes and between female athletes.”
“Participation of DSD athletes (‘differences of sexual development’) in boxing competitions were found dangerous for [the] health and security of the boxers,” said the IBA statement.
The IOC has insisted that “there is no transgender issue” with the boxers, spurring speculation that the athletes have the Difference in Sexual Development known as 46, XY, meaning they were born with ambiguous genitalia and internal testes, but that they underwent male puberty and produce male-level testosterone.
The athletes have not commented publicly on the gender flap, but in an interview Monday with SNTV, Khelif asked for the public to “refrain from bullying all athletes,” saying “it can destroy people.”
Lin, 28, is slated to fight for the gold medal on Saturday at Roland Garros, while the 25-year-old Khelif’s match in the 145-pound category is scheduled for Friday.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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