One of the controversial 'failed gender test' woman boxers at the 2024 Paris Games, Taiwan's Lin Yu-Ting, defeated Bulgaria's Staneva Svetlana Kamenova 5-0 on Sunday.
After the fight was over, the losing fighter crossed her index fingers, which many understood as her demonstrating the XX chromosome symbol, which is in reference to Lin failing a previous gender test, while also being identified as a biological male (XY).
Bulgarian boxer Svetlana Staneva holds up an (XX) chromosome symbol after losing to Lin Yu-Ting, a biological male (XY) 👀 pic.twitter.com/7PuPsWWNiO
— Amit Shah (Parody) (@Motabhai012) August 4, 2024
Staneva, 34, who didn't touch gloves with Lin, 28, left the arena without commenting on the situation.
After defeat, Bulgarian boxer Svetlana Staneva refused to shake hands with Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-Ting, who has XY chromosomes. Instead Staneva protested by flashing a double X sign to signify her female XX chromosomes. Report: https://t.co/GdnGf9G9v6 pic.twitter.com/sLIExIoPhW
— m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) August 4, 2024
But Staneva's coach Borislov Geoirgiev suggested the victor Lin shouldn't have been allowed in the ring.
"I am not a medical person who should say if Lin could compete or not here," he told the BBC. "But when the tests show that he or she has the Y chromosome, she should not be here."
To note, Lin also won her round of 16 fight with an unanimous 5-0 decision vs. Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova last Friday.
In regards to the gender controversy, there has been much backlash received for the International Olympics Committee's (IOC's) decision to allow both Lin and Alegeria's Imane Khelif (66 kg) to fight in Paris after they were just disqualified at the World Championships in 2023.
When viewing Khelif's fights in Paris, she defeated Italy's Angela Carini in the Round of 16, while she bowed out of the fight after just 46 seconds. Then Khelif defeated Hungary's Hamori Anna Luca 5-0 in the quarterfinals.
The semi-final round of the 57 kg woman's boxing event will feature a matchup between Lin vs. Turkey's Yildiz Kahraman on Wednesday, August 7 at 3:30 pm ET; Khelif will face off vs. Thailand's Janjaem Suwannapheng on Tuesday, August 6 at 4:30 pm ET.
Thailand’s Suwannapheng will be fighting male XY boxer Khelif on Tuesday for a place in the Olympic boxing final.
Khelif beat her in the 2023 world championships before he was disqualified for failing a sex test. Suwannapheng was reinstated and went on to get Silver. Now she… pic.twitter.com/Poi6GosI4V
— FairPlayForWomen (@fairplaywomen) August 4, 2024
To point out, this is a rematch for Suwannapheng, as she is the one who lost in the semifinals to Khelif during the World Championships last year, but was reinstated to fight in the finals (won silver) after the Algerian boxer was disqualified for failing the gender test with "elevated levels of testosterone"
Lin commented on the current circumstances as her and Khelif have faced public scrutiny.
"I have received many messages of support from my country and from people in Paris. I thank them," Lin said. "But I have not been able to read them because I have shut down my social media... I am going to keep going and going to the gold medal. I have won a bronze medal, but I want to win the gold."
