Despite the controversy surrounding her gender, Lin Yu-Ting was still able to advance to the Olympic semi-finals.
She defeated Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva and secured herself a spot in the bronze-medal match. Lin failed to meet the conditions of her participation in the world championships due to her gender.
Following the match, Staneva made two Xs with her index fingers. This was reportedly the reason behind her gesture, as the debate regarding her participation continued.
Staneva left the boxing ring without commenting.
According to the Washington Post, her coach, Borislav Georgiev, went through the press area and carried a piece of paper that read, “Only I want to fight with women.”
He then claimed that this was the message from every boxer in the tournament.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif was also caught up in the controversy after she was able to beat Angela Carini of Italy in just 46 seconds. Carini, who was reportedly reduced to tears after suffering a hard hit, opted out of the match.
According to the IOC, its eligibility decisions for the boxing tournament were based on the regulations implemented during the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC, defended the actions of the two female boxers. He noted that they were still considered to be women even though they were disqualified from the world championships.
Bach noted that the two female boxers were born as women and have been fighting as women for a long time.
He said that there was no doubt that they were women. Yu-ting, on the other hand, refused to comment on the ongoing controversy and stated that she had received messages of support from both her home country and in Paris.
Despite her bronze medal, Yu-ting stated that she was still focused on winning the gold.
According to the results of genetic tests conducted by the IBA, both Khelif, as well as Yu-Ting, have male chromosomes.
Nicola Adams, a gold medalist from Great Britain, criticized the involvement of the two female fighters.
She noted that it was hard for her to watch a fellow boxer give up on her dreams of competing at the Olympics.
According to her, individuals who were not born as female should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports.