Another controversy at Paris Olympics! Bulgarian boxer forced to compete against Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting despite her hesitance amid widespread gender debate

Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting under the spotlight after a clip of Svetlana Staneva went viral where she wanted to stop the match but was forced into it.

Bulgarian boxer forced to compete against Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting (Via Daily Mail/X)

This year, the Olympic Games have shifted away from sports and have been engulfed in a myriad of controversies. The spotlight from Algerian Imane Khelif was hardly moved when it fell onto another controversial name in the world of boxing–  Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting representing Chinese Taipei.

Via a unanimous decision, Yu-ting secured the third medal for Taiwan in the featherweight quarterfinals by defeating Bulgarian Svetlana Staneva on Sunday. However, the real controversy flared up when a clip from the boxing match went viral on the internet where Staneva wanted to stop the match against Yu-ting.

After taking punches from her alleged male opponent in Round 2, Staneva told her coach to take her gloves off as she didn’t want to compete anymore. However, her coach tried talking her out of it and forced her to go back into the ring.
Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting defeated Bulgarian Svetlana Staneva (Via Marca)
“Take off! [my gloves],” screamed Staneva.

“No, wait wait,” said her coach.

Staneva wanted to stop the fight after Round 2 but was forced to carry on taking punches from her male opponent.

Staneva: “Take off! [my gloves]”
Coach: “No, wait wait”

Thanks to @dani_errs for the Bulgarian translation ❤️#paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Ga9EFtJpW7

— FairPlayForWomen (@fairplaywomen) August 4, 2024

Although she did go back in the ring to give it her best try, Yu-ting won the quarterfinal via unanimous decision. However, after the game, Staneva refused to shake hands with her opponent and also gestured an ‘X’ symbol using her fingers to show her XX chromosomes while her Taiwanan opponent had XY– echoing the statement made by the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) President Umar Kremlev.

Boxers Lin Yu-ting and Imane Khelif face scrutiny over testosterone levels

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Yu-ting and Khelif have come under the spotlight. Back in 2023, both of these boxers were disqualified from the World Boxing Championship in New Delhi, India. The reason for doing so was the elevated levels of testosterone found in their blood.

Later, Kremlev revealed they conducted an anonymous test of Yu-ting and Khelif and the results revealed they have XY chromosomes, despite the claim they were born female. Even though the two competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics three years ago, the IBA later imposed a ban on them.
Imane Khelif (Via AP News)
Despite having the opportunity to appeal, when Yu-ting did not file an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS), the IBA’s decision became binding on her. On the other hand, Khelif did initially file an appeal but later withdrew it, making the decision final for her as well.