Gender controversy has once again marred the boxing ring as Lin Yu-Ting faced scrutiny tonight, following a gesture from her defeated Olympic rival that questioned her sex amidst ongoing debates in Paris.
Yu-Ting secured a comfortable victory over Turkey’s Esra Yildiz, who made the double ‘X’ sign with her fingers—an echo of the gesture previously made by Yu-Ting’s Bulgarian opponent, Svetlana Staneva.
Despite Yildiz showing sportsmanship by touching gloves and assisting Yu-Ting as she exited the ring, she was also seen making the ‘X’ sign.
When asked about her gesture later, Yildiz simply replied: ‘No comment.’
Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman makes an ‘X’ sign to protest her loss to China Taipei’s Lin Yu Ting
In the debate over gender, male chromosomes are represented by an X and a Y, while females possess two X’s.
Yu-Ting exited the Roland Garros arena without addressing the incident, instead expressing gratitude to her fans and opponent back in Taiwan.
The Olympics stands ready to celebrate two female boxers, previously accused of being male, who may clinch gold medals.
Lin Yu-Ting, 28, triumphed over her Turkish opponent to advance to the women’s 57kg final on Saturday.
She joins Algeria’s Imane Khelif, 25, in facing off in Olympic boxing finals, both having navigated discourse surrounding their participation in the Paris Olympics.
Yu-Ting’s success in the ring serves as a significant blow to her detractors, as well as Khelif’s critics, who have both fought for the chance at gold amid the most contentious moments of Paris 2024.
Olympic officials feel a sense of vindication following the decision not to disqualify her and Khelif after the International Boxing Association indicated they did not meet gender eligibility requirements at a tournament in India last year.
Tonight, Yu-Ting let her boxing skills speak volumes as she faced an opponent shorter by two inches.
She persevered through ongoing whispers of controversy, bowing and acknowledging the crowd of 13,000 at Roland Garros, transformed from a tennis venue into a boxing arena for these critical bouts.
Khelif’s popularity has prompted Olympic organizers to schedule her fight against China’s Liu T-Yang as the concluding event on Friday night’s program, aimed at maximizing viewership among American and global audiences post-work hours.
Lin Yu-Ting, 28, and Khelif, 25, faced disqualification last year at the women’s world championships due to failing gender evaluations.
Gilles Johanne, a boxing enthusiast aged 49 from Paris, expressed: ‘This is fantastic for the Olympics. I’m thrilled she won. I don’t care what others think about her. She’s an Olympic athlete like any other.’
‘My wife and I have felt very sympathetic towards this young woman. It must have been incredibly isolating for her this week.’
However, Yu-Ting, who stands at 5ft 9in, was registered female at birth, as was Khelif, who holds female identification.
Olympic officials continue to support the involvement of Khelif and Yu-Ting in Paris 2024, with both starting their boxing journeys at age 13.
Taiwan’s sports authorities conducted further tests confirming Yu-Ting’s eligibility leading up to the Olympics, following last year’s exclusion.
Yu-Ting’s representatives labeled allegations against her as discriminatory, asserting these claims aim to undermine her mental resilience.
The IOC has based its eligibility rulings on gender criteria in place during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
In recent years, multiple sports organizations, including World Aquatics, World Athletics, and the International Cycling Union, have revised their gender policies. The track association tightened rules last year regarding athletes with differences in sex development.
The IOC oversees boxing at the Paris games due to its revocation of Olympic status from the International Boxing Association, which has faced issues related to governance, financial transparency, and numerous allegations of corrupt practices in officiating and judging.
Under the leadership of president Umar Kremlev, the IBA has welcomed Russian state-owned Gazprom as its main sponsor and shifted many operations to Russia.
Despite this, Olympic officials describe the situation concerning the two boxers as a ‘minefield,’ noting that no definitive scientific evidence has been presented to substantiate claims that they are not women.
IOC chief Bach stated: ‘We’re discussing women’s boxing. We have two athletes who were born, raised, and have identified as women, who possess female passports and have competed numerous times as women. This clearly defines them as women.’
Biological testing from the IBA revealed that Khelif and Yu-Ting possess male XY chromosomes, although neither identifies as transgender.
Prominent figures like JK Rowling, British Olympian Sharron Davies, and double Olympic gold medalist Nicola Adams have expressed their opposition to the participation of these athletes in women’s sports.
Today, JK Rowling reiterated her stance against the two boxers who have not passed gender evaluations.
She remarked on X: ‘Some commentators misrepresent critics of the IOC’s reliance on documentation rather than sex testing, implying Khelif is trans. I don’t claim Khelif is trans. My concern, highlighted by many, is the escalation of male violence against women in Olympic sports.’
Davies commented: ‘This is appalling. The IOC is disgraceful for essentially legalizing violence against women in sports. This must end!!! What are they thinking?’
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss questioned, ‘When will this insanity cease? Men cannot simply become women. Why is the British Government not protesting this?’
Conversely, Olympic officials condemned what they termed an online ‘hate’ campaign aimed at the boxers.
Khelif’s opponent, Anna Luca Hamori of Hungary, had shared a post depicting a ‘beauty and a beast’ before their match, stating she was indifferent about fighting ‘a man or a woman.’ The image has since been removed from her social media.
The Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee lodged a formal complaint with the IOC regarding the online harassment Khelif has faced, labeling it a ‘serious breach of sports ethics and the Olympic Charter by a participant in the boxing tournament at the Paris Olympics,’ as outlined in a statement on their Facebook page.
Though the statement did not name the offending boxer, it cautioned that the IOC ‘has issued a final notice to remove any posts related to our heroine Iman Khalif.’
Additionally, the committee emphasized: ‘We reserve the right to take legal action against all those involved in this egregious campaign against our heroine Imane Khelif.’
