Boxers from Algeria, Taiwan advance to Olympic semifinals, assured of winning medals

PARIS – The two female boxers who were dragged into the gender eligibility controversy at the Paris Games are guaranteed to win Olympic medals . Nothing less than bronze.

And quite possibly at least one gold medal now that each boxer has reached the semifinals of the women’s boxing competition.

Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting, the No. 1 seed in the featherweight division (126 pounds), won her quarterfinal bout Sunday. She beat Bulgaria’s Svetlana Staneva on points by unanimous decision. Algeria’s Imane Khelif, the No. 5 seed in the welterweight division (146 pounds), won her quarterfinal Saturday with a unanimous decision victory over Hungary’s Anna Luca Hamori.

In Olympic boxing, bronze medals are awarded to both losing semifinalists as part of the tournament’s single-elimination format.

The International Boxing Association, which is not the governing body of the sport, is not recognized by the IOC and has no role in Olympic boxing, stripped Lin (gold) and Khelif (bronze) of their 2023 World Championship medals after the organization claimed they failed gender eligibility tests. The IOC and others have raised concerns about the veracity of those tests.

Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, said this week there's never been any doubt that Lin and Khelif are cisgender women and he urged "really everyone to respect these women, to respect them as women, as human beings."

The IOC also said the two boxers — who have been subjected to abuse on social media and inaccurate online speculation about their sexes — are victims of an arbitrary decision by the IBA .

"Allow me to say that what is going on in this context in social media with all this hate speech with this aggression and abuse ... is totally unacceptable," Bach said.

However, the two boxers have excelled in the boxing ring in Paris, and on Sunday Lin cried after her victory.

Although she did not directly address the controversy stirred up around her, her translator said after the match that Lin she has shut down social media. Lin also said through the translator that she knows she has received many messages of support.

Khelif won her first bout when Italy’s Angela Carini abandoned the fight 46 seconds into the match and won her quarterfinal match against Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova Friday on points by unanimous decision.

Khelif will compete in the semifinals Tuesday and Lin will compete in the semifinals on Wednesday.

After Lin beat Staneva Sunday, one of the Bulgarian's coaches carried a handwritten sign that read she would only face women — Lin and Khelif are both cisgender women — and made a reference to XX chromosomes.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Boxers from Algeria, Taiwan advance to Olympic semifinals, assured of winning medals