Sawt Falasteen - Taiwanese boxer in Olympics gender row wins to guarantee medal

Lin Yu-ting, who together with Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is at the centre of a global storm over their eligibility, defeated Bulgaria's Svetlana Staneva on a unanimous points decision to reach the semi-finals of the women's 57kg category.

With her second win of the tournament, the 28-year-old Lin is certain to win a medal because losing semi-finalists in the boxing take home bronze.

Khelif is also guaranteed at least bronze after winning her quarter-final on Saturday in the women's 66kg division.

Khelif and Lin were disqualified from last year's world championships after failing gender eligibility tests, but were cleared to box in the French capital.

They also competed at the Tokyo Games in 2021 but did not win medals.

Neither boxer is known to identify as transgender.

The controversy ignited on Thursday when Khelif needed just 46 seconds to win her opening bout in the French capital, forcing an abandonment against her hurt and tearful Italian opponent Angela Carini.

Carini, who suffered a badly hurt nose and was distressed, collapsed to the centre of the ring in tears.

Lin and the 25-year-old Khelif were disqualified from the 2023 world championships, run by the International Boxing Association (IBA).

The IBA said this week that the two boxers "did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test, whereby the specifics remain confidential".

The boxing in Paris is organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which took over because of governance, financial and ethical issues at the IBA.

The IOC has leapt to the defence of Khelif and Lin, with president Thomas Bach on Saturday saying they were born and raised as women, and have passports saying that.

G.AbuHamad--SF-PST