Sawt Falasteen - Taiwan's Lin to compete in first international event since Paris gender row

Lin and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif were embroiled in a gender row at the 2024 Paris Games, where they won Olympic titles in separate weight classes.

World Boxing, a body recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), confirmed the decision to allow Lin back into the ring after its medical experts ruled that the 30-year-old athlete was female.

The decision means Lin can compete in the Asian Boxing Championships in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar starting March 28, her first international event since Paris.

"We are pleased that World Boxing's independent medical experts thoroughly reviewed all evidence and confirmed that she has been female since birth," Taiwan's boxing association said in a statement, describing the decision as a "tremendous relief" for Lin.

Lin "will make her highly anticipated return to the ring at the Asian Boxing Championships", the statement said.

Under World Boxing's policy introduced in August, fighters over 18 who want to participate in the women's category need to take a one-off genetic test.

Lin was tested last year, but World Boxing has not revealed the results.

She missed the world championships in Liverpool in September after reportedly failing to get a response from World Boxing.

Taiwan's boxing association began an appeal process, submitting medical documents to World Boxing that were analysed by its medical committee.

"Following the conclusion of an appeal process... we can confirm that the boxer is eligible to compete in the female category at World Boxing competitions," its secretary general, Tom Dielen, said in a statement.

Lin and Khelif were excluded from the International Boxing Association's (IBA) 2023 world championships after the IBA said they had failed eligibility tests.

However, the IOC allowed them both to compete in Paris, saying they had been victims of "a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA".

Both went on to triumph.

G.AbuHamad--SF-PST