Paris Olympics boxing: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting beats Svetlana Staneva to ensure medal amid gender debate

Lin Yu-ting secures Taiwan's third boxing medal at Paris Olympics, amidst gender eligibility controversy and social media support.

Lin Yu-ting beat Svetlana Kamenova Staneva of Bulgaria by a unanimous decision in a featherweight quarterfinal fight on August 4 to ensure Taiwan's third boxing medal at the Paris Olympics.

Lin and Algeria's Imane Khelif have been at the centre of a social media storm at the Games due to them being disqualified at the 2023 World Championships after falling foul of unspecified International Boxing Association's gender eligibility rules.

"I know all of Taiwan's people are standing behind me and supporting me, and I will carry this energy to the end," Lin said after her win.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said on Saturday there "was never any doubt" that Lin and Khelif were women who had every right to compete at the Games.

The boxing tournament in Paris is being organised by the IOC, which stripped the IBA of international recognition in 2023 over governance and finance issues.

On Friday, the Bulgarian Olympic Committee said it had voiced its concerns over the two boxers' presence at the tournament during a meeting with the IOC's Medical and Scientific Commission on July 27.

"Yu-ting is great!" Taiwan President Lai Ching-te wrote on his Facebook page after Lin's victory.