Lin Yu-ting, 28, clinched her spot in the semi-finals of the women's 57kg category after a unanimous points victory over Bulgaria's Svetlana Staneva on Sunday. This win ensures Lin will take home a medal, marking her first Olympic podium finish. Similarly, Khelif, 25, secured her medal by winning her quarter-final in the women's 66kg division on Saturday.

Both Lin and Khelif faced disqualification from last year's world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after failing gender eligibility tests. Despite this, they were cleared to compete in the Paris Olympics, which are organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to governance issues within the IBA.

The controversy surrounding their participation reignited last Thursday when Khelif swiftly defeated her Italian opponent Angela Carini in just 46 seconds, causing a wave of online abuse and intense scrutiny. Lin, on the other hand, has shut down her social media to avoid the backlash and has focused on her goal of winning gold. “I want to thank all the supporters from Taiwan,” she said.

The taiwanese boxer tried to sit back and let her opponent get close in the first round, a strategy that had mixed results as she landed some heavy punches. The two-time world champion was more direct in the second, taking the fight to Staneva, who showed her frustration by grabbing Lin and pushing her to the canvas.

Lin found herself on the canvas again when she was accidentally tripped by Staneva, who held the ropes open for the Taiwanese boxer to leave the ring at the end of the fight. Lin, who will face Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey at Roland-Garros on Wednesday, said her goal is to keep going and become to be a gold medalist.

Lin is competing in her third Olympics and is a two-time world champion with the IBA (2018 and 2022). She’s competed in elite-level amateur boxing for a decade. Neither Lin nor Khelif, who’s 25 and a six-year veteran, had been sanctioned before last year’s world championships. They also competed at the Tokyo Games in 2021 but did not win medals.

The boxing in Paris is organised by the IOC, which took over because of governance, financial and ethical issues at the IBA. The IOC has leapt to the defence of Khelif and Lin, with president Thomas Bach on Saturday saying they were born and raised as women, and have passports saying that.