The two 'XX'. A gesture, just a gesture, but one that is fast on its way to becoming a symbol synonymous with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

The first to use it was Svetlana Staneva, who was eliminated by Imane Lin Yu-Ting in the women's -57kg category last Tuesday. Two days later, Esra Yildiz of Turkey did the same thing when she lost to Lin Yu-ting in the 66kg semi-final.

The two were one step away from the big final for the gold medal and both lost convincingly. Khelif's and Lin Yu-ting's punches gave the judges no respite. The victory for the two boxers was resounding and unanimous.

Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting are in the final, which they will play on Saturday after their participation sparked a debate and controversy that the International Olympic Committee did not expect. Their exclusion from the World Championships by the IOC and subsequent inclusion in Paris 2024 has not gone down well with women's rights groups.

The debate began when Italy's Angela Carini was beaten by Imane Khelif in just 46 seconds. She said: "It hurt so much. I've never been hit so hard," she said after the fight. It was at this point that the debate about Khelif's failure to pass the gender test came to the fore. In Paris, there is nothing else to talk about, even beyond the boxing spectacle that is taking place.

The controversy grew when Bulgaria's Svetlana Staneva lost to Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting in the quarter-finals. The staging was total. A direct line to the IOC. When the referee raised the arm of the Taiwanese as the winner, Staneva walked to the centre of the ring, pointed at herself and made the "XX" sign with her fingers. 

This is the symbol for the chromosomes associated with women (XY for men). The gesture has become a sign of peaceful protest against those responsible for allowing both boxers to take part in the Olympic Games. A new gesture of rejection, Khelif and Lin are in Paris 2024.

The Bulgarian Staneva was followed on Wednesday on the symbolic stage of Roland Garros by the attitude of Esra Yildiz Kahraman from Turkey. She lost again in the semi-final of the 57 kg category against the Taiwanese. Esra Yaldiz cried. As the tears fell, Lin herself went to console her in the corner, where the Turkish athlete was left alone to reflect on her defeat. But Esra Yildiz stood up and repeated the double X gesture.

The International Boxing Association (IBA) claimed that she had fought with a "competitive advantage over other female competitors" following a "gender test" at the 2023 World Championships. A claim was rejected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which regulates boxing in the Olympic Games. IOC president Thomas Bach defended Lin Yu-Ting and Imane Khelif.

"They are two boxers who were born as women. They grew up as women, they have women's passports and they have been competing as women for many years," Bach said.

With the judges' scorecards reading 5-0 in Lin Yu-ting's favour, Esra Yildiz waited in her corner and opened the ropes for her to leave the ring, making an "X" gesture with her fingers.

Svetlana Staneva and Esra Yaldiz showed their dissatisfaction. The Turkish athlete did not want to make many statements after losing and settling for bronze. When asked about the gesture she had just made, she replied, "No comment". "I just want to say that I'm sad that I didn't make it to the final and I hope that I can do better in Los Angeles 28 in four years' time," she said, according to official media reports.

Staneva was silent for her part. She did not want to say anything, but her coach did. Borislov Georgiev said that his pupil told him: "I only want to fight women. I am XX. This is perhaps the message of every female boxer in this tournament. Whether Lin can compete here or not, I am not a medical professional. However, if the tests show that she has the Y chromosome, she shouldn't be here," she was quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper Sport.

Last Tuesday, the Algerian boxer expressed her surprise at all that had happened after Imane Khleif of Algeria had qualified in the -66kg category by beating Thailand's Janjaem Suwannapheng by unanimous decision. Why these attacks now?" she asked after the fight, recalling that she was competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Be that as it may: We will have to wait and see what happens this Friday when the final takes place. Khelif will face China's Yang Liu and Lin Yu-ting will take on Poland's Julia Szeremeta. Both the Chinese and Polish boxers deserve to be in a major Olympic final. But they are no strangers to the presence of their opponents, who have come into the final with total superiority in their fights. They are much less tired than they are physically, although it remains to be seen how they are mentally.

In any case, it will be necessary to see how they will digest a victory for either of them, both Khelif and Lin Yu-ting, the IOC, an organisation that continues to be in the spotlight on many fronts for its permissiveness in the participation of both fighters.