Taiwanese boxer claims medal after eligibility dispute

Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, the reigning Olympic champion, won a bronze medal at the Asian Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in the 60 kg category — her first competition since a gender eligibility dispute overshadowed her performance at the Paris Olympics, Reuters reports.

The 30-year-old chose not to compete at last year’s World Championships after World Boxing announced that female boxers would be required to undergo mandatory sex testing as part of a new eligibility policy, ​CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

The new measure was introduced a year after Lin and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics amid controversy over their gender eligibility.

Last month, Lin was cleared to compete in the women’s category by World Boxing following an appeal from the Taiwanese federation, paving the way for her return at the Asian Championships in Mongolia.

Lin Yu-ting, who moved up to the 60 kg category after winning Olympic gold at 57 kg, lost in the semifinals to North Korea’s Won Un Gyong (1–4) on Monday, finishing with a bronze medal.

“After all, this is our first participation in the 60 kg category since the Olympics,” said her coach Tseng Tzu-chiang. “The opponents’ skills, strategies, and styles are new to us, so we used this opportunity to observe and learn. Yu-ting hasn’t competed in a long time, and it was clear her current physical condition wasn’t at its peak. Losing this time is not a bad thing; there is room for improvement and a clear path forward.”

Tseng added that Lin aims to compete at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, scheduled for this autumn.