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A day after the Algerian Olympic boxer, Imane Khelif, was embroiled in controversy during her bout with Angela Carini of Italy, Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting steps into the ring under a sudden new spotlight.
Khelif came under scrutiny after Carini withdrew from the fight after taking two punches from Khelif, later claiming she stopped the fight because, “I feared for my life.” That, despite the fact that Khelif has boxed more than 50 matches on the international circuit, with nine losses, and has never actually put anyone’s life in danger.
But Khelif became a target last March when the IBA, international boxing’s governing body at the time, abruptly disqualified her ahead of her gold-medal match in India.
At the same time, the IBA disqualified Lin, who had won the bronze medal. The IOC has since ceased to recognize the IBA—over issues of corruption and finances—and made the decision not to bar Lin or Khelif. Lin is to fight Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan on Friday.
In a statement this week, the IBA remained cagey about the basis for that decision and said, “The athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential. 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.”
Lin Yu-Ting Has Long International Record
Lin is 28, and has been boxing internationally since 2013. She came to prominence when she won a gold medal at the AIBA world championships in 2018. Identified as a female on her passport, Lin won the Asian Games in 2023, which qualified her to compete in Paris as a 57-kilogram entrant.
Lin is 40-14 in her career, and fought in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She last fought against Brazilian Jucielen Cerqueira Romeu at the USA Boxing Invitational in April in Colorado, and lost that bout.
While the IBA had claimed Lin “failed” a gender test, the organization never revealed what test Lin took and what the results were. The IOC did not accept that any tests had ever taken place—testosterone tests are the most widely recognized gender tests available—and noted that the decision came from since-deposed IBA chief, the Russian Umar Kremlev.
Olympic Committee Blames IBA
The IOC’s statement on the presence of Lin and Khelif laid the blame for the situation with the IBA, and Kremlev specifically, for its decision last year (via The Independent):
“Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process. According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO.”
If not for that decision, the IOC implied, the controversies around Imane Khelif and now Lin Yu-Ting, would not have happened.
“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,” the statement read.
“The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving. Every person has the right to practice sport without discrimination.”
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