Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) emerged as Olympic champion in the women’s 57kg (featherweight) division on Saturday in Paris (Sunday in Taipei), despite facing online abuse due to gender misconceptions over the past two weeks.
Lin defeated Julia Szeremeta of Poland by a unanimous 5-0 decision to clinch the gold, completing a long journey of redemption after being eliminated from the Tokyo Games in 2021 in her opening bout.
Lin, who has been competing in women’s events since her boxing debut in September 2013, is the first Taiwanese boxer to win gold, after three other Taiwanese female boxers earned bronze medals in their respective divisions in Tokyo and Paris.
Photo: REUTERS
No male boxer from Taiwan ever medaled at the Games.
Lin and Imane Khelif of Algeria were caught in a firestorm of gender scrutiny during the Games as tensions between the International Boxing Association (IBA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) intensified.
The IBA was suspended from running the Olympic boxing competition in 2019 and stripped of its Olympic credentials last year due to governance issues and a lack of transparency.
Photo: CNA
However, that did not stop it from alledging during the Olympics that Lin and Khelif should not be competing in the women’s boxing event in Paris.
Its accusations stem from its disqualification of Lin and Khelif at the IBA Women’s World Championships last year for failing undisclosed gender eligibility tests, which the IOC has criticized.
The IOC said that the two boxers were “victims of sudden and arbitrary decisions by the IBA” and over the past two weeks repeatedly affirmed the eligibility of both athletes for the Games, citing their passports and being identified as female since birth.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Saturday’s victory saw Lin silencing the noises from outside the ring.
After her victory, Lin kissed the mat and was visibly emotional during the medal ceremony as Taiwan’s national anthem played.
“From the moment I started boxing until now, all the hardships of training came rushing back,” she said.
Photo: AFP
“I teared up because winning this medal for my country means so much. So many people in Taiwan have believed in me and supported me,” she added.
Addressing the recent scrutiny she faced over misconceptions about her gender, Lin said she had avoided social media throughout the competition, choosing to focus solely on her performance and leaving other matters in the hands of her coach.
“As a top athlete, it is crucial to stay focused on the game,” she said. “All I need to know is who my opponent is and how to prepare for the next match.”
Photo: CNA
Lin said she is incredibly honored to win Taiwan’s first Olympic boxing gold medal, and vowed to continue pushing herself.
“I believe I am here for a special purpose, and I will continue to work hard,” she said.
With the latest accomplishment, the 28-year-old fighter achieved a “grand slam” in her amateur boxing career, adding to her two world championships, two Asian championships and one Asian Games gold.
President William Lai (賴清德) on Facebook yesterday congratulated her for winning the gold medal despite facing “malicious attacks” from the IBA.
Lai highlighted the widespread excitement across the nation after Lin’s victory.
“I believe all of us in Taiwan are as thrilled as I am, and we are proud of Lin Yu-ting,” he said.
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) also congratulated Lin on Facebook.
“We are so proud of her hard-won and remarkable achievements,” it said.
“Her perseverance and positive attitude were an inspiration to us all. She has shown the world her incredible talent and resilience and brought honor to Taiwan,” it added.
See stories on pages 2 and 7
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
UNITED: The other candidates congratulated Cheng on her win, saying they hoped the new chair could bring the party to victory in the elections next year and in 2028 Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday won the party’s chair election with 65,122 votes, or 50.15 percent of the votes. It was the first time Cheng, 55, ran for the top KMT post, and she is the second woman to hold the post of chair, following Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who served from 2016 to 2017. Cheng is to succeed incumbent Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Nov. 1 for a four-year term. Cheng said she has spoken with the other five candidates and pledged to maintain party unity, adding that the party would aim to win the elections next year and
RSS