The controversy continues. After Imane Khelif's 42-second victory over Italy's Carini on Thursday, Friday saw the debut of one of the boxers at the centre of a growing gender scandal at the Paris Olympics. In the women's -57kg quarter-finals, Taiwan's Lin Yu Ting defeated Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova by unanimous decision.

Lin, 28, is at the centre of a storm over the eligibility of female boxers, along with Imane Khelif. Both Khelif and Lin had been disqualified from the 2023 World Championships in New Delhi, organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA), after failing to meet the "eligibility criteria". However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which oversees the boxing tournament in Paris, has cleared the boxers to compete in the French capital.

Lin Yu Ting made her debut at the Paris 2024 Olympics this Friday against Sitora Turdibekova. She was granted a special permit by the IOC, despite failing to pass the gender tests at the last World Boxing Championships. 

In Paris these days, controversial decisions are being talked about more than boxing. It seems that they have not been fully understood and have caused a division of opinion. Whether or not there is an actual advantage has not been fully proven, but the situation has undoubtedly sparked controversy and been a slap in the face for the IOC, who are now unsure if they made the right decision.

Born in 1995, Lin competes in the featherweight division at 1.75m and 57kg. The 28-year-old is the focus of attention at Paris 2024, not for her performance in the ring, but for her trans identity. Yu Ting has 24 fights under her belt and a record of 19-5. She began to make her mark on international boxing in 2018 when she won gold at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships. However, in 2023 she failed the gender test and had to give up her bronze medal at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships.

Lin Yu Ting's case adds fuel to the controversy following last Thursday's incident when Italian Angela Carini withdrew from her fight against Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer with high testosterone levels. "I went into the ring and tried to fight. I wanted to win. I got two punches on the nose and I couldn't breathe, it hurt a lot, I went to coach Renzini and with maturity and courage I said enough," said Carini, adding, "It hurt a lot, I don't want to continue. It's not fair". The Italian's tears have gone viral.

The Algerian Olympic Committee (COA) on Thursday condemned what it described as "the malicious and unethical attacks launched by a number of foreign media against our outstanding athlete, Imane Khelif". The COA denounced "totally unjustified lies". Meanwhile, the Algerian reached the quarter-finals and on Friday Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting defeated Uzbekistan's Turdibekova. Both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting will continue in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Hungarian boxer Anna Luca Hamori, who is set to face Algeria's Imane Khelif on Saturday, said on Friday that it's unfair to allow Khelif to compete.  

"In my humble opinion, I don't think it's fair that this competitor can fight in the women's category," the 23-year-old Hamori wrote on Facebook. "But I can't worry about it now, I can't change it, it's life," she said.

The upcoming fight has caused outrage in Hungary. Earlier, Hamori defended Khelif's participation, telling Hungarian state news agency MTI that "if they let her compete here, they must know she's a woman". Hamori is the first female boxer from Central Europe to compete in the Olympics.

The Hungarian Olympic Committee said it had contacted the IOC about Khelif's inclusion, saying: "It is a fundamental requirement for equal opportunities for women that only competitors with exclusively female biological characteristics should be allowed to compete in the women's field.

"If the Olympic rules for participation in boxing do not fully guarantee this, the rules should be reviewed and, if necessary, amended," she said. The head of the Hungarian Olympic Committee "initiated immediate consultations" with the IOC sports director to "clarify the situation", according to the statement.

The controversy continues, and politics is getting involved. Taiwan's presidential spokeswoman, Lai Ching-te, said in a post on X on Thursday that Lin: "has shown incredible strength by overcoming doubts to compete fairly on the world stage. Her determination inspires the nation.

Even former US presidential candidate Donald Trump said on his social network Truth Social: "Keep men out of women's sports!" International reactions followed. Women's groups have called for the immediate removal of both boxers, while others like JD Vance described Thursday's one-sided fight as "a grown man beating a woman in a boxing match", adding: "This is disgusting and all of our leaders should condemn it". Harry Potter author JK Rowling said on X, formerly Twitter, that the Paris Games would be "forever tainted by the brutal injustice done to Carini".

Friday's events provided some surprises. One of them was the defeat of the Spanish boxer Rafa Lozano by the Dominican Junior Alcántara. The judges awarded the fight to the South American. Lozano missed out on the medal his father won for Spain 24 years ago.

Jalolov (Uzbekistan) did not disappoint, beating Teremoana (Australia) 5-0. He continues on the road to glory for Uzbekistan, a country with high hopes of becoming an Olympic boxing powerhouse.

Boxing Results

Women's 57 kg

Lin Yu Ting (Taiwan) vs Sitora Turdibekova (Uzbekistan) 5-0

Michaela Walsh (Ireland) vs Svetlana Kamenova (Bulgaria) 0-5

Kouloud Hlimi (Tunisia) vs Esra Yildiz (Turkey) 0-5

Alissa Mendoza (USA) vs Jucielen Cerqueira (Brazil) 1-4

Men's 51 kg

Billal Bennama (France) vs Alejandro Claro (Cuba) 3-2

Rafael Lozano (Spain) vs Junior Alcantara (Dominica) 2-3

Men's 80 kg

Cristian Javier (Dominican Republic) vs Gabriel Veocic (Croatia) 5-0

Nurbek Oralbay (Kazakhstan) vs Murad Allahverdiyev (Azerbaijan) 5-0

Men's 92 kg

Diego Lenzi (Italy) vs Nelvie Raman (Germany) 0-5

Teremoana (Australia) vs Bakhodir Jalolov (Uzbekistan) 0-5

Women's 57 kg

Amina Zidani (France) vs Nesthy Petecio (Philippines)

Xu Zichum (China) vs Valeria Arboleda (Colombia)

Karina Ibragimova (Kazakhstan) vs Ashleigh Lozada (Puerto Rico)

Julia Szeremeta (Poland) vs Tina Rahimi (Australia)

Men's 51 kg

Patrick Chinyemba (Zambia) vs David de Pina (Cape Verde) 0-5

Saken Bibossinov (Kazakhstan) vs Hasanboy Dusmatov (Uzbekistan) 2-3

Men's 80 kg

Oleksandr Khyzhniak (Ukraine) vs Wanderlei de Souza Pereira (Brazil) 5-0

Turabek Khabibullaev (Uzbekistan) vs Arlen López (Cuba) 2-3

Men's 92 kg

Djamili Dini Aboudou Moindze (France) vs Gerlon Gilmar Congo (Ecuador) 4-1

Ayoub Ghadfa (Spain) vs David Chaloyan (Armenia) 5-0