Olympic Boxer Who Failed Gender Eligibility Test Wins After Khelif Furor

Boxer Lin Yu-ting, whose participation in the Paris Olympics has generated much rancor focused on her gender, has won her latest bout against Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan.

The Taiwanese boxer, a two-time world champion, was disqualified from the women's IBA World Championships last year after failing to meet the now-unrecognized International Boxing Association's gender eligibility criteria.

Fellow Olympian Imane Khelif, was also excluded from last year's championships for the same reason. The 28-year-old Algerian's bout in Paris against Italy's Angela Carini on Thursday ended controversially after Carini called for a stop to the fight after only 46 seconds.

Addressing Lin and Khelif's exclusions in 2023, the IBA's president, Umar Kremlev, said that gender and testorone tests "proved they had XY chromosomes (Y is the male chromosome)." However, neither Lin nor Khelif identify as transgender or intersex.

The Olympic Committee suspended the IBA in 2019 before withdrawing its recognition as a global governing body in June. The IOC said the association had failed to implement finance, governance and ethical reforms, but has also previously criticized the IBA for "inconsistencies" in its eligibility criteria.

Both Lin and Khelif passed the IOC's eligibility tests and are listed as female in their passports. The IOC blasted the IBA for excluding the pair last year, calling the athletes "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," a joint statement from the IOC and the Paris 2024 committee said.

"The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure—especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years. Such an approach is contrary to good governance.

"The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving. Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination."

Khelif and Lin have competed as women in amateur tournaments for years. Khelif won a silver medal at the IBA's 2022 world championships and competed at the Tokyo Olympics, while Lin is a double IBA gold medal winner.

Following the fight with Khelif, Carini said she'd "never felt a punch" like it, referring to one blow, and chose to end the bout for her "health."

However, the 25-year-old said she wishes to "apologize" to Khelif, telling the BBC on Friday that the controversy surrounding her opponent "makes her sad."

"I'm sorry for my opponent, too. If the IOC said she can fight, I respect that decision," Carini said.

The boxer also said she regrets not shaking hands with Khelif after the bout.

"I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke," she said, adding that she would "embrace" Khelif if they crossed paths again.