Boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan wins her opening bout at the Paris Olympics amid controversy

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By GREG BEACHAM

VILLEPINTE, France (AP) — Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan won her opening Olympic boxing bout on Friday, beating Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan 5:0 in the women’s 57-kilogram division.

Lin and fellow women’s boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria were disqualified from the world championships held last year by the International Boxing Association for supposedly failing gender eligibility tests, and their presence at the Paris Olympics has become a divisive international issue.

Lin entered the ring at the North Paris Arena to a chorus of cheers from the French crowd. Her headgear became dislodged in the first minute during a clinch, but she won the first round on four of five scorecards.

Lin is well-known in international competitions for being taller and more slender than most of her fellow competitors at 57 kilos while using her quickness and superior reach to land significant punches. The two-time Olympian won the final two rounds 5:0 on all five cards against Turdibekova.

Lin bowed to the crowd before leaving the ring. On her walk back to the dressing room, she stopped and waved at her cheering fan section, touching her hand to her heart, and later hugged some of her supporters.

Lin advanced to face Svetlana Staneva of Bulgaria in the quarterfinals on Sunday, with the winner clinching her first Olympic medal.

Staneva is a 34-year-old amateur boxing veteran who lost a close fight to Lin at the 2023 world championships in India. The victory was changed to a no-contest by the IBA, which claimed Lin had failed an unspecified gender test.

Lin didn’t speak to the media afterward. Taiwan coach Tseng Tzu-chiang briefly described the victory, saying Lin overcame pressure in the first round, before leaving.

Turdibekova cried as she walked to the dressing room.

Lin is the top seed in the women’s 57-kilogram category in Paris, although Olympic seeding is frequently unindicative of a boxer’s medal chances. She won world championships in 2018 and 2022, but the IBA abruptly disqualified her during last year’s competition before the final.

The IBA also disqualified Khelif from last year’s world championships for what it said were elevated levels of testosterone.

Both Lin’s and Khelif’s passports say they are female, and they have no eligibility issues with the International Olympic Committee, which runs the Olympic boxing tournament in the permanent absence of the banished IBA. Khelif also is a two-time Olympian.

The IOC repeatedly has condemned the growing criticism of Lin and Khelif, who won her own first bout Thursday when opponent Angela Carini of Italy quit after 46 seconds, citing pain in her nose following a few exchanges of punches.

Lin has competed in elite-level amateur boxing for 10 years, and Khelif is a six-year veteran. Neither had been sanctioned before last year’s worlds.

The IBA has been out of the Olympic movement since 2019 after years of concerns with its governance, financial transparency and administration of competitions.