PARIS (Reuters) -Lin Yu-ting, one of two boxers at the heart of a gender dispute at the Paris Games, made light work of Polish opponent Julia Szeremeta to claim the women’s featherweight title on Saturday.
Lin and Algeria’s Imane Khelif, who won gold in the welterweight category on Friday, have been in the spotlight as part of a gender dispute that has dominated headlines and been the subject of much discussion on social media platforms, triggering a legal complaint from the Algerian.
The 28-year-old Lin became Taiwan’s first gold medallist in boxing, with the island having previously won only three bronze medals in the sport – two of which came at the Paris Olympics.
“I find it truly incredible,” Lin told reporters. “I want to thank everyone who supported and believed in me; it’s what has kept me going until now. I’ve also written history for Taiwan to let the world know about it.
“Every match is challenging. Even though it might look like a 5-0 win, each match is a big test of whether my training foundation is solid.”
Lin and Khelif were disqualified by the International Boxing Association (IBA) from the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi, with the body saying in a shambolic press conference at the Paris Games that a gender test had ruled them ineligible.
The two boxers are competing at the Olympics after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped the IBA of its status as the sport’s governing body in 2023 and took control of organising the boxing in Paris.
The IOC has rejected the results of the IBA-ordered tests as arbitrary and illegitimate, saying there was no reason to conduct them.
At these Games, the IOC is using boxing eligibility rules that were applied at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics which do not include gender testing.
PRESIDENT’S PRAISE
In a post on X after Lin’s bout, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te praised the boxer.
“In the face of malicious and untrue disinformation, Taiwanese, whether they are the government or the people, regardless of political party, are united and refuse to let Yu-Ting be the target of false information attacks,” he wrote.
“Yu-Ting, you are amazing!
“The distractions outside the ring will not affect your solid performance. You have shown more strength than other boxers of the same weight, and you have also won the support of boxers from all over the world who have fought against you.
“You fought hard all the way to prove your strength to the world and successfully win the gold medal.”
Using her jab to keep Szeremeta at bay, Lin landed a couple of right hooks as the Pole was looking to break the distance.
Szeremeta was full of good intentions but lacked speed and accuracy, exposing herself to a potential counter blow.
Lin had much more speed in a one-sided bout that forced Szeremeta to go all in during the last round, and the Taiwanese was just content to dodge the attacks.
Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines and Turkey’s Esra Yildiz were awarded bronze.
(Additional reporting by Aadi Nair, Joyce Zhou and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ken Ferris)
