Taiwanese Boxer Clinches Her First Olympic Medal Amid Gender Controversy

VILLEPINTE, France — Boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan clinched her first Olympic medal Sunday in front of a crowd that chanted her name, one day after fellow boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria secured one as well following days of online abuse and intense scrutiny about their participation at the Paris Games.

Lin defeated Svetlana Kamenova Staneva of Bulgaria 5:0 in a women’s 57-kilogram quarterfinal, advancing to the semifinals and ensuring she will win at least a bronze medal.

Lin and Khelif have been at the center of a clash over gender identity and regulations in sports, as critics have brought up their disqualification from the world championships last year after the banned International Boxing Association claimed they failed unspecified eligibility tests for women’s competition.

Lin, who will face Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey on Wednesday, said her goal is to keep going and become a gold medalist. She did not mention any of the online scrutiny of the past few days and said that she shut down her social media before her first Olympic fight.

“I want to thank all the supporters from Taiwan,” she said.

Staneva appeared to walk past Lin immediately after the fight, but after the referee announced the decision and lifted Lin’s hand as the winner, Staneva went over and sat on the rope on her opponent’s side and opened the rope for Lin to step out.

Staneva, a 34-year-old amateur boxing veteran, lost a close fight to Lin in the semifinals of the 2023 world championships in India. The victory was changed to a no contest by the IBA, which claimed Lin had failed the unspecified eligibility test.

The IBA has been banned from Olympic participation since 2019 following years of criticism from the International Olympic Committee,