Row over Olympic boxing gender scandal deepens
The double world champion from Chinese Taipei, Lin Yu-ting, one of two boxers at the heart of a gender row, won her featherweight round of 16 bout against Uzbekistan's Sidora Turdibekova on points by unanimous decision at the Paris Olympics on Friday. The 28-year-old Lin, along with Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who won her round of 16 welterweight fight on Thursday against Italy's Angela Carini in 46 seconds, have been in the spotlight of the gender row after being cleared to compete in the Olympics. Both had been disqualified at the 2023 World Championships after failing International Boxing Association (IBA) eligibility rules that prevent athletes with male XY chromosomes competing in women's events. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is overseeing the boxing tournament in Paris, has cleared the boxers to compete in the French capital. The IBA said in a statement the athletes "did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test." However the "specifics" of this test "remain confidential", the IBA said. IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the Olympic body's eligibility criteria was based on the gender indicated on the boxers' passports, but acknowledged that it's "not a black and white issue". Neither Lin nor Khelif is known to identify as transgender and both competed at the Tokyo Games in 2021 in the women's competition. The row has expanded outside the ring, with politicians and celebrities weighing in. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the Khelif-Carini fight was "not on an equal footing", after the Italian fighter was left with a badly hurt nose and in tears. US presidential candidate Donald Trump declared on his Truth Social network that he would keep "men out of women's sports". His running mate JD Vance described Thursday's one-sided bout between Khelif-Carini as a "grown man pummelling a woman in a boxing match", adding: "This is disgusting, and all of our leaders should condemn it." Harry Potter author JK Rowling said on X, formerly Twitter, that the Paris Games would be "forever tarnished by the brutal injustice done to Carini". (Agencies)