Taiwanese boxer in gender flap advances to gold bout as opponent does 'XX' gesture amid Olympic controversy

Lin Yu Ting and Imane Khelif advance to Olympic boxing finals amids gender eligibility controversy

Lin Yu Ting made it to the final round of the boxing competition despite being under constant review for her gender eligibility. In her match against Yildiz Kahraman, Lin managed to withstand a strong attack from Kahraman, who used powerful punches and combinations.

Esra Yildiz makes an “X” gesture with her fingers after losing to Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting

The Turkish boxer, unable to overcome the height and reach advantage of the 5-foot-9 Taiwanese boxer, expressed her dissatisfaction with the outcome by making a visible "XX" gesture during the match. While Lin moves on to compete for gold, Kahraman will receive a bronze medal as Olympic boxing does not hold separate bronze medal bouts.

Lin Yu Ting advances to boxing final

Following Algeria's Imane Khelif securing a spot in the women's welterweight final with her third consecutive win, Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu Ting also advanced to the gold medal match in the women's featherweight division. Both boxers have been at the centre of ongoing debates regarding gender eligibility in women's boxing.

Following a crushing 5-0 defeat, the Turkish boxer waved her fingers like she was making a double "X," which meant she was a woman with XX chromosomes, just like Svetlana Kamenova Staneva from Bulgaria did in the quarterfinals. The International Olympic Committee has said that Lin and Khelif can still compete in the women's category stating that they both are ‘biologically female’. The Committee even dismissed the gender tests used by the IBA in the ongoing controversy.

“The Algerian boxer was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, and has a female passport,” IOC earlier defended their stance as IBA remains cancelled for its transparency concerns which saw a ban on association in 2023.

“I will use everything I’ve learned in my life to do my best in the next match,” Lin said after the fight as per AP.

Lin and Khelif have won every match in all three of their Olympic games. Lin is going up against the 20-year-old Szeremeta in the gold medal match, who came back strong in the third round to win 4:1 against Nesthy Petecio from the Philippines. Khelif is going to face Yang Liu from China in the women's 75-kilogram final on Friday night.