Lin Yu-Ting wins gold at Paris Olympics amid gender misconceptions, tears up with joy

Boxer Lin Yu-Ting wins gold over Julia Szeremeta at Paris Olympics 2024, following intense scrutiny and boxing gender wars.

Lin Yu-Ting wins gold at Paris Olympics amid gender misconceptions, tears up with joy

Boxer Lin Yu-Ting wins gold medal over Julia Szeremeta amid gender row (Source: bbc.com/X)

Lin Yu-Ting, the second boxer embroiled in the Paris Olympics 2024 gender controversy, won the Olympic gold medal in the 57kg women’s final. The boxer out of Taiwan beat Poland’s Julia Szeremeta by unanimous decision to claim the featherweight title. She now follows Imane Khelif’s lead a day earlier to aptly reply with gold amid heavy gender row scrutiny.

The final took shape from 3:30 p.m. ET on CNBC, Peacock, and NBCOlympics.com at Roland-Garros Stadium. Lin’s size and reach made the difference in the gold medal match. Her length troubled the opponent as the taller Lin kept Julia Szeremeta away with jabs and nimble outside footwork. Upon receiving her medal, the Chinese Taipei boxer broke down in tears after the harrowing scrutiny she went through.

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Lin, 28, defeated Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey by a unanimous decision, advancing to the final round of the women’s 57-kilogram. Yet again, she had to face much online abuse, with even consecutive opponents taking a jibe at her gender. The Russian-backed IBA had DQed her and Imane Khelif back in 2023 for failing gender eligibility testing pools. However, the tests have not been made public.

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Both were subsequently allowed to compete under the IOC’s ad-hoc Boxing Rule unit. While Khelif teed off her opponent too strong in her opening bout, Yu-Ting fought consistently. In the finals, she yet again won all three rounds on all five judges’ scorecards to secure the gold. She now gets some much-needed positive traction by winning Taiwan’s first Olympic boxing gold medal. As such, her win has gone viral.

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Paris Games enthusiasts react to Lin Yu-Ting winning gold

Lin Yu-Ting won gold in the women’s featherweight (126 pounds) final, defeating Poland’s Julia Szeremeta on points. Leading with a crisp jab, she won the first two frames comfortably and led with spectacular footwork in the next.

Fans react to Lin Yu-Ting's win at Paris Olympics 2024
Fans react to Lin Yu-Ting’s win at Paris Olympics 2024 (Source: boxemag.com/X)

Much like Imane Khelif, she started her journey at the 2018 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships as a bantamweight. Both were subject to abuse on social media and online speculation about their sexes. As the Paris 2024 gender-row boxing controversy rolled out, many jumped the gun to consider them trans-women for hormonal imbalances, even though the IOC confirmed otherwise.

Here are a few reactions to her Paris Olympics 2024 win.

https://twitter.com/Muhammad_Hron/status/1822365760146280903

After her momentous win, Yu-Ting went down to her knees, kissing the five-ring Olympic logo. Alongside, she displayed prominent sportsmanship and helped others with their medals. Fans have touted this to be a mark of a true boxer, regardless of gender.

Dr. Ioannis Filippatos, a sports-medicine specialist and OBY-GN and president of the European Boxing Confederation, doubled down at a Monday Presser that IBA was right to DQ boxers with XY chromosomes. Consequently, Khelif has spoken out against “the enemies of success’’ again after her win. However, Lin remains limited in her public media availability.

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