Boxer Lin Yu-ting, previously disqualified from the women’s International Boxing Association World Championships last year, has secured a victory in her recent bout against Uzbek boxer Sitora Turdibekova at the Paris Olympics.
Lin emerged victorious in the 57 kg round-of-16 by unanimous decision, moving her forward to the quarterfinals. Her next opponent has yet to be determined.
The Taiwanese boxer, a two-time world champion, was earlier disqualified from the 2023 IBA World Championships due to failing the gender eligibility test.
Similarly, Imane Khelif, another Olympian, faced dismissal from last year’s championships for related reasons.
The Algerian boxer, Khelif, has also been embroiled in controversy following her match with Italy’s Angela Carini, who requested to halt their fight after 46 seconds.
At the time of Lin and Khelif’s disqualification from the 2023 championships, IBA President Umar Kremlev stated that their gender and testosterone tests “proved they had XY chromosomes.”
Neither Lin nor Khelif have publicly identified as transgender or intersex.
Importantly, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the IBA in 2019.
In June 2023, the committee withdrew its recognition of the IBA as a global governing body, which the IBA labeled a “tremendous error,” according to Reuters.
The IOC cited multiple reasons for this decision, including alleged issues with finance, governance, and ethics.
The Olympics Committee also criticized the IBA’s decision to disqualify Lin and Khelif from the world championships last year, claiming they were “victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA.”
Both Lin and Khelif are listed as females on their passports and have passed the Olympics’ eligibility tests to compete in their respective sports.
In response to opposition regarding Lin and Khelif’s participation in this year’s Olympics, the IOC and the Paris 2024 committee issued a joint statement: “Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, [Lin and Khelif] were suddenly disqualified without any due process.”
“The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure — especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.”
“Such an approach is contrary to good governance.”
“The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving. Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.”
In light of Khelif’s controversial match, Carini has expressed a desire to apologize to her opponent.
Speaking to the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Carini said: “I’m sorry for my opponent too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”
“Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else,” she added. “I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke.”
Carini also mentioned that if she meets Khelif again, she would embrace her.