PARIS
Lin Yu-ting beat Svetlana Kamenova Staneva of Bulgaria by a unanimous decision in a featherweight quarter-final fight on Sunday to ensure Taiwan’s third boxing medal at the Paris Olympics. Lin and Algeria’s Imane Khelif have been at the centre of a social media storm at the Games due to them being disqualified during the 2023 World Championships after falling foul of unspecified International Boxing Association (IBA) gender eligibility rules.
“I know all of Taiwan’s people are standing behind me and supporting me, and I will carry this energy to the end,” Lin said after her win.
“I received a lot of supporting messages. I did not read them because I shut down my social media platforms.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Sunday that the IBA tests carried out on the two fighters last year were illegitimate and lacked credibility.
“Those tests are not legitimate tests. The tests themselves, the process of the tests, the ad hoc nature of the tests are not legitimate,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told a press conference.
The boxing tournament in Paris is being organised by the IOC, which stripped the IBA of international recognition in 2023 over governance and finance issues.
On Friday, the Bulgarian Olympic Committee said it had voiced its concerns over the two boxers’ presence at the tournament during a meeting with the IOC’s Medical and Scientific Commission on July 27.
“Yu-ting is great!” Taiwan President Lai Ching-te wrote on his Facebook page after Lin’s victory.
“In recent days, Taiwan’s people have been indignant at the slander against her. Facing the challenge, Yu-ting is fearless and uses her strength to crush the rumours. Let us continue to cheer for her!”
