Female boxer leaves ring in tears after losing to rival who failed gender test a day after Angela Carini lost to Imane Khelif
Uzbekistanian boxer Sitora Turdibekova left the ring in tears after losing her round-of-16 Olympic bout to Taiwan's Lin Yu-Ting.
Lin has been at the centre of a gender row at the Paris Olympics alongside Algeria's Imane Khelif after both women failed gender eligibility tests at the Women's World Championship in India.
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But the two-time world champion didn't allow the noise to get to her as she got the better of her Tudibekova in her first fight in Paris.
Lin experienced early adversity when her head guard was knocked off in the opening 53 seconds yet she came back to get her hand raised in the end via unanimous decision.
Turdibekova was overwhelmed by emotion as she left the arena but still shook hands with Lin on her way out.
Lin and Khelif's inclusion in the French capital has been a major story of discussion.
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Both women failed unspecified tests carried out by the IBA at the World Championships in 2023, resulting in Lin being stripped of her featherweight bronze and Khelif being disqualified hours before her gold medal bout.
IBA president Umar Kremlev said that DNA tests had “proved they had XY chromosomes and were thus excluded from the sports events”.
A statement from the IBA has since confirmed the pair “did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test, whereby the specifics remain confidential.”
Despite this, they have been cleared to compete at the Paris Olympics by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who have taken over the running of Olympic boxing from the IBA since the Tokyo Games.
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The controversy came to a head when Italy’s Angela Carini quit her last 16 bout with Khelif after receiving one significant blow in the opening 46 seconds.
Carini said she withdrew due to 'pain in the nose' and that she had 'never felt a punch like this'.
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Khelif is now set to return on Saturday against Hungary’s Anna Luca while Lin's next fight is yet to be confirmed.
Transitioning is illegal in Algeria and Khelif was assigned female at birth and continues to identify as female.
Neither Khelif nor Lin, identify as transgender or intersex.
Italian boxer walks out of Olympic fight after one punch against Algerian opponent who failed eligibility test
According to , Lin was the subject of further sex testing after returning home following the World Championship, which proved she was female.
The IOC has blamed the IBA for its 'arbitrary' decision to disqualify Lin and Khelif last year and defended its decision to allow both boxers to compete in a lengthy statement, which reads: "Every person has the right to practise sport without discrimination.
"All athletes participating in the boxing tournament of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 comply with the competition’s eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit (PBU).
"As with previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of the athletes are based on their passport.
"These rules also applied during the qualification period, including the boxing tournaments of the 2023 European Games, Asian Games, Pan American Games and Pacific Games, the ad hoc 2023 African qualifying tournament in Dakar (SEN) and two world qualifying tournaments held in Busto Arsizio (ITA) and Bangkok (THA) in 2024, which involved a total of 1,471 different boxers from 172 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the Boxing Refugee Team and Individual Neutral Athletes, and featured over 2,000 qualification bouts.
"The PBU used the Tokyo 2020 boxing rules as a baseline to develop its regulations for Paris 2024.
"The two athletes have been competing in international boxing competitions for many years in the women’s category, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, International Boxing Association (IBA) World Championships and IBA-sanctioned tournaments.
"These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA.
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"Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process.
"According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO.
"The IBA Board only ratified it afterwards and only subsequently requested that a procedure to follow in similar cases in the future be established and reflected in the IBA Regulations.
"The minutes also say that the IBA should 'establish a clear procedure on gender testing'.
"The current aggression against these two athletes is based entirely on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure – especially considering that these athletes had been competing in top-level competition for many years.
"Such an approach is contrary to good governance.
"Eligibility rules should not be changed during ongoing competition, and any rule change must follow appropriate processes and should be based on scientific evidence.
"The IOC is committed to protecting the human rights of all athletes participating in the Olympic Games as per the Olympic Charter, the IOC Code of Ethics and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights.
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"The IOC is saddened by the abuse that the two athletes are currently receiving.
"The IBA’s recognition was withdrawn by the IOC in 2023 following its suspension in 2019.
"This was to minimise the impact on athletes’ preparations and guarantee consistency between Olympic Games.
"These Tokyo 2020 rules were based on the post-Rio 2016 rules, which were in place before the suspension of the boxing International Federation by the IOC in 2019 and the subsequent withdrawal of its recognition in 2023.
"We have seen in reports misleading information about two female athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
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"The withdrawal of recognition was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
"The IOC has made it clear that it needs National Boxing Federations to reach a consensus around a new International Federation in order for boxing to be included on the sports programme of the Olympic Games LA28."
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