Featured Image Credit: Richard Pelham/Getty Mohd Rasfan/Getty
Topics: Olympics, Boxing, Sport, World News
Tom Earnshaw
Topics: Olympics, Boxing, Sport, World News
A boxer who was previously banned from competing in the women's competition is just one win away from a guaranteed medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Lin Yu-ting, representing Taiwan, easily put aside Sitora Turdibekova from Uzbekistan in a unanimous points victory at the North Paris Arena.
The win in the round of 16 means that should Lin beat her next opponent in the quarter finals, she'll be guaranteed at least a bronze medal at the Paris Games.
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Commentators said Lin 'used her attributes really well', putting her speed, height and reach advantages to good use.
Lin has been one of two boxers targeted this Olympics over their previous disqualification from the 2023 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships, a decision taken by the International Boxing Association (IBA), over what they said was gender eligibility issues.
The other boxer has been Imane Khelif of Algeria, with her win after 46 seconds against Italy's Angela Carini going global, leading to questions asked as to whether she should be allowed to compete in the female event.
Social media has been pull of people claiming both are either male or transgender. This is despite neither of them identifying as such, or identifying as intersex.
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It has seen some forced to retract on their comments, including WWE superstar and influencer Logan Paul.
One boxer who stood up for Khelif was forced to issue a second statement after she was targeted by trolls and bullies.
Last year, Lin was stripped of her bronze medal and Khelif was stopped from fighting in the gold medal bout.
The IBA stated that both boxers were not put through testosterone examinations.
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Instead they underwent a 'separate and recognised test, whereby the specifics remain confidential', with the IBA claiming that the results meant the boxers were 'found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors'.
But the IBA ban doesn't cover the Olympics after the body was stripped of its recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2023, relating to concerns over governance and finance issues.
In a strongly worded statement, the IOC said that both women have been competing in boxing for years without issue before the 2023 test.
It said: "We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
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"The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.
"These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process.
"According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO.
"The IBA Board only ratified it afterwards and only subsequently requested that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA Regulations