Boxer at centre of gender row one win away from Olympics medal | Other | Sport
The female boxer at the centre of a controversial gender row at the 2024 Olympics has moved a step closer to taking home a medal from Paris.
Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who was previously banned from competing at boxing events over a failed gender test, was awarded a unanimous victory over Sitora Turdibekova.
The clash between two-time world champion Lin, 28, and Turdibekova, 22, sparked controversy after Lin failed a gender eligibility test at last year’s World Championship for not meeting the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) eligibility criteria.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif, 25, was also disqualified from the same competition.
But like Lin, Khelif has been permitted to compete in Paris by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and won on Thursday against Italy’s Angela Carini in a bout lasting just 46 seconds after her opponent quit.
Less than 24 hours later, Lin, the top seed in the 57kg competition, has moved another step closer to taking a medal home from Paris 2024, despite an ongoing debate regarding her eligibility.
She dominated the first round and took charge of the fight as her opponent only scored one point. By the second round, all five scorecards were tilted in Lin’s favour. As the three-round match ended, Lin was crowned the unanimous winner with the judges clearly picking her as the deserved winner.
The pair shook hands after the match, a gesture that appeared to suggest Turdibekova did not object to fighting Lin. She will advance to the next round of the tournament to face Hungary’s Scetlana Staneva on Sunday, with a medal now in her sights.
It comes just a day after Khelif sparked controversy during her fight against Carini. The Italian was struck twice, suffered a suspected broken nose and barely threw a punch before telling her corner: “It’s not fair”, before calling a halt to the fight.
She then sank to her knees, beat the canvas in frustration and refused to shake Khelif’s hand after the Algerian raised her hand as the winner. After the 66kg fight ended, Carini claimed she quit the match in order to protect her safety.
The IOC hit out at “misleading reports” about the athletes, who were not named in the statement, and defended their decision to let them compete.
“Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination,” they said. “All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU).
The authority added “the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport,” and said that both athletes had previously competed in Tokyo. “We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024,” they added.
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