Paris Olympics: Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting wins via unanimous decision, advances to gold medal bout

Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei, one of the more controversial athletes of this year’s Olympic Games, squared off against Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey in the 57kg semifinal Wednesday night and came away a unanimous winner on all cards.

Lin received a warm response as she walked into Roland-Garros, refitted from a tennis arena into a boxing one. Lin attempted to keep Kahraman at a distance with her superior reach, but Kahraman spent the early minutes of the first round grunting and unleashing a flurry of blows, some of which even landed. At nearly a head taller than Kahraman, Lin had a substantial advantage, but Kahraman tried to eliminate that advantage with speed and fury. The first round ended with Lin winning 10-9 on all five cards.

The second round started out fast, with Kahraman unleashing a vicious sequence of blows that rocked Lin. The two fighters clinched throughout the round, often even ending up wrapped around one another. Kahraman’s initial energy started to taper out at the end of the round, but Lin still managed to get away with what the audience thought was a blow to the back of Kahraman’s head. The second round again went to Lin, 10-9 on all five cards.

In the final round, Kahraman needed a miracle to flip the fight, but couldn’t manage to break through Lin’s defense. Kahraman’s punches grew more frantic and desperate as the seconds wound down, but Lin didn’t buckle, waiting out her shorter opponent until the final bell rang.

Lin and Algeria’s Imane Khelif have spent the last week at the center of a gender controversy that has spread far outside the arenas of Paris. Both Lin and Khelif were born and raised female, and competed as females throughout their early careers.

In 2022, the International Boxing Administration tested Lin, Khelif and two other boxers at a tournament, based on suspicions from other boxers, trainers and officials. The results of Lin and Khelif were inconsistent, so the IBA re-tested them in 2023. Lin and Khelif were found to have genetic inconsistencies in those tests and were both disqualified from the tournament. Lin chose not to appeal the disqualification; Khelif initially did, but dropped her appeal.

The International Olympic Committee severed ties with the IBA later in 2023 over concerns about the IBA’s judging and operations. As a result, the IOC did not accept the results of the IBA’s tests, and did not conduct its own tests, preferring instead to rely on boxers’ passports to determine gender. When Khelif won her first-round bout because an Italian boxer retired after just 46 seconds, the story of their failed tests broke wide.

Lin now goes on to fight for a gold medal on Saturday night. She and Khelif, who fights for gold Friday, have spent the last week under scrutiny, and the challenges that boxing faces will last long after these Games are done.