Second boxer embroiled in gender controversy, Lin Yu-ting, wins Olympic match

The second of the two female boxers whose gender identities have recently been scrutinized won her first fight at the Paris Olympics on Friday.

Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan defeated Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan in the 57 kg round-of-16 match by unanimous decision and advanced to the quarterfinals. Her victory follows Thursday’s win by Algeria’s Imane Khelif, whose gender identity has also come into question in recent days, prompting a social media firestorm.

The participation of Lin and Khelif in Olympic women’s boxing has sparked global outrage in recent days after reports resurfaced that the pair failed to meet gender eligibility tests at the Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi last year. Sporting officials at the time alleged that the boxers failed an unspecified test because they had male chromosomes.

Lin and Khelif have always competed in women’s events — including at the Tokyo Olympics — and there is no indication that either identifies as transgender or intersex, the latter referring to those born with sex characteristics that do not fit strictly into the male-female gender binary.

On Thursday, tensions over the pair’s participation came to a head when Khelif’s opponent, Angela Carini of Italy, quit 46 seconds into the match.

“It’s terrible,” she said right after the match. “It isn’t fair, it isn’t fair, it isn’t fair.”

Carini later told reporters that she ended Thursday’s fight because she felt a “severe pain” in her nose. She added that she did not believe she was qualified to comment on whether Khelif should have been allowed to compete.

The fight prompted outrage online, largely from prominent figures who are frequently criticized for their remarks about transgender people, including former President Donald Trump, tech billionaire Elon Musk and “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling.

“I WILL KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS!” Trump wrote on his social media site, Truth Social.

Politicians and sporting officials from the boxers’ home countries defended them this week.

“When I met boxer Lin Yu-ting 林郁婷, I saw an athlete who is fearless in the face of challenges, whether they come from inside or outside the ring,” Taiwan’s former President Tsai Ing-wen wrote on X Friday, ahead of Lin’s match. “Today, when she represents #Taiwan on the Olympic stage, we will be behind her & all the Taiwanese Olympians making us proud.”

The Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee celebrated Khelif’s win on Thursday across several social media platforms. 

“We are proud of you and look forward to seeing you shine even more in the next stages,” one of the translated Facebook posts said.

The Russian-led International Boxing Association — the sporting body that disqualified Lin and Khelif from the world championships last year — reiterated its decision to bar both women from competition following Khelif’s win on Thursday.

“The IBA will never support any boxing bouts between the genders, as the organization puts the safety and well-being of our athletes first,” the IBA said in a statement. “We are protecting our women and their rights to compete in the ring against equal rivals, and we will defend and support them in all instances; their hopes and dreams must never be taken away by organisations unwilling to do the right thing under difficult circumstances.”

The IOC cut ties with the IBA last year following years of governance and financial transparency issues, as well as perceived instances of corruption.

At a press conference Friday, International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams questioned the unspecified gender tests the IBA claimed Lin and Khelif failed last year.

“We’d have no knowledge of what the tests were,” he said. “They were cobbled together, as I understand, overnight, to change the results.”

Adams also called for an end to the online hate directed at both boxers.

“What I would urge is that we try to take the culture war out of this and actually address the issues and think about the individuals and the people concerned,” Adams said. “Real damage is being done by misinformation.”

The IOC determines whether competitors should compete with men or women based off of the gender marker on their passports.

On Friday, Carini apologized to Khelif.

“All this controversy makes me sad,” Carini told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’m sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision.”

Khelif and Lin are set to compete in the quarterfinals this upcoming weekend. Khelif will face Anna Hamori of Hungary on Saturday. Lin’s opponent for her match on Sunday has yet to be decided.