Sawt Falasteen - Gender-row boxer Lin targets Asian Games after bronze on comeback

Lin, who won gold at 57kg at the 2024 Games, was cleared last month by World Boxing to resume competition at the Asian Elite Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, after passing a gender test.

She reached the semi-final of the 60kg class but lost to North Korea's Won Un Gyong.

Her coach, Tseng Tzu-chiang, told AFP that Lin would aim for a second Asian Games gold in Japan later this year after her comeback "breakthrough" this week, having won the 57kg class in Hangzhou in 2023.

"Changing weight class is inherently a challenge. Having new competitors is a great way to challenge yourself," Tseng told AFP in a phone interview from Ulaanbaatar.

"It's definitely a fantastic opportunity because we've never encountered any opponents in this weight class before.

"It's a breakthrough."

The medical committee of World Boxing, the governing body recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), last month finally cleared the 30-year-old Lin to return to the ring.

"It's a new weight class and she hasn't been able to compete on the stage for a long time," said Tseng.

"Of course, the gender test is also a challenge and now that we've passed that hurdle, we'll focus on doing our best in the Asian Games."

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

Both had been barred from the International Boxing Association's (IBA) 2023 world championships for failing eligibility tests.

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

World Boxing subsequently introduced a policy that fighters 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 did not reveal the results. She missed the world championships 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.

In March she was finally cleared to compete "in the female category at World Boxing competitions," said its secretary general, Tom Dielen in a statement.

Tseng said it had been a drawn-out process.

"We spent a lot of effort communicating and coordinating with World Boxing and the IOC to define the gender test policy, which took a lot of time," he said.

"When we found out we could compete, there were less than two weeks left (before the tournament). We were prepared but our overall condition wasn't perfect."

Lin will next compete at the World Boxing Cup in Guiyang, China, in June, Tseng added, before training in South Korea in preparation for September's Asian Games.

O.Mousa--SF-PST