(LifeSiteNews) — A boxer believed by many to be male has won their latest fight against a woman at the Paris Olympics.
On Friday, Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting defeated Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova by unanimous decision in the women’s featherweight boxing division at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The fight is causing controversy online, with many pointing to the fact that while Yu-ting does not identify as intersex or as transgender, the boxer won the women’s bronze medal at the 2023 IBA World Championships but was subsequently stripped of the medal, with the IBA stating that Yu-ting failed to “meet eligibility criteria.”
The IBA published a statement earlier this week saying that both Yu-Ting and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif had been disqualified as “a result of their failure to meet the eligibility criteria for participating in the women’s competition, as set and laid out in the IBA Regulations. This decision, made after a meticulous review, was extremely important and necessary to uphold the level of fairness and utmost integrity of the competition.”
“Point to note, the athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential. This test conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors,” the IBA continued.
Although the IBA has not confirmed the exact tests that Yu-Ting and Khelif failed, it is widely reported that sex tests showed that they have XY chromosomes. Neither athlete appealed the decision.
President of the International Boxing Association (IBA) Umar Kremlin is reported to have said at the time of the disqualification that a number of boxers were disqualified after “a series of DNA-tests” had “uncovered athletes who were trying to fool their colleagues and pretend to be women.”
Nevertheless, both Yu-ting and Khelif have been cleared by the International Olympics Committee to compete in women’s boxing, with some arguing it is fair because both are female, and others arguing that it is unfair because neither are female.
This is Taiwanese ‘women’s’ boxer Lin Yu-Ting who just beat Uzbekistans female boxer Sitora Turdibekova.
In 2023, Yu-Ting was barred from competing in the women’s boxing World Championships after failing a gender eligibility test and being found to have male XY chromosomes. pic.twitter.com/OVS6xlKKdn
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) August 2, 2024
NEW—Unbelievable! Another day at the Paris Olympics and another MAN just pummeled and abused a WOMAN in a boxing match.
Taiwans Lin Yu-Ting, a man who failed a gender test and was barred from competing in the 2023 World Championships, left Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova on the… pic.twitter.com/7CH8semKmO
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 2, 2024
Yu-Ting Lin, a female at birth, had a misfortunate childhood filled with domestic violence from her father. Hence she decided to take up boxing in middle school in attempt to protect her mom.
She is now an Olympian but faces groundless accusation on her gender. Stop the BS pls. pic.twitter.com/5fPSO0aXmd
— 找尋歷史腳步-柏 (@RekishitoSeiji) August 1, 2024