Taiwan’s Olympic medallist Lin Yu-ting quits boxing event over gender issue

Taiwan’s Olympic boxing gold medallist Lin Yu-ting has pulled out of an international competition in the United Kingdom after the organisers questioned her gender eligibility, Taiwanese sports officials have said.

Lin, who along with Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was the target of a gender row at the Paris Olympics, was due to compete in the World Boxing Cup Finals in Sheffield starting on Wednesday.

The new competition was organised by World Boxing, which was founded in 2023 and boasts about 55 members, including Taiwan.

It was to be Lin’s first international competition since Paris, but she withdrew after World Boxing questioned her eligibility, Taiwan’s Sports Administration said in a statement on Wednesday.

“She is female, meets all eligibility criteria, and successfully participated in the women’s boxing event [in Paris], winning a gold medal,” the statement said.“Unfortunately, as World Boxing is newly established and still navigating the development of its operational mechanisms, it lacks the clear regulatory policies of the IOC that ensure the protection of athletes’ rights,” it said, referring to the International Olympic Committee.

“Additionally, World Boxing’s medical committee has yet to establish robust confidentiality procedures to safeguard the medical information submitted by Taiwan regarding Lin Yu-ting.”

Lin had offered to undergo a “comprehensive medical examination locally” in the UK but World Boxing did not agree, the statement said.

To avoid further “harm” to Lin, her coach and Taiwanese sports officials “decided to withdraw from this event proactively”.

Lin had arrived in the UK a few days ago and pulled out of the event on Tuesday, Hsieh Chi-ying from the Sports Administration told the AFP news agency.