Fresh Olympics row as defeated boxer makes 'female chromosome' sign at fighter who 'failed gender test'

4 August 2024, 15:13

The women's Olympic boxing competition has been engulfed in a fresh row after a defeated fighter appeared to make a 'female chromosome' sign at her opponent, who previously failed a gender test.

Svetlana Staneva crashed out of the quarter-finals of the Olympic women's 57kg event to Lin Yu-Ting, who previously failed "to meet the eligibility criteria" for the women's the world championships.

Staneva made a 'two X's' sign after her defeat, in an apparent reference to Lin. The International Boxing Association (IBA) said that she and fellow boxer Imane Khelife had X-Y chromosomes, which men normally have.

One spectator said of Staneva's gesture: "It's quite shocking if that's what she meant. That she is saying she is a woman and her opponent isn't."

Both Lin and Algerian Khelife have previously competed in female boxing events for a number of years before the IBA's test in 2023.

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The IBA was stripped as the global governing body for boxing in June last year by the IOC, which is overseeing the sport in Paris.

In Sunday's quarter-final bout, Lin earned her second successive win in the competition by unanimous decision against Staneva.

The Bulgarian started well to keep Lin at bay and hit a good left hook followed up by a big blow to her face, but Lin also began to land well towards the end of the round.

Staneva became frustrated as she struggled to follow through with her punches and the Chinese Taipei fighter began to take advantage of her longer reach with some quick hits before easing to victory.

It means that Lin is guaranteed at least a bronze medal and will fight in the semi-finals on Wednesday against Turkey's Esra Yildiz Kahraman.

Khelif also won her quarter-final bout on Saturday by unanimous decision against Hungary's Anna Luca Hamori.

Earlier on Saturday, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach condemned the "hate speech" the pair have received on social media.

"Let's be very clear, we are talking about women's boxing," Bach said.

"We have two boxers who are born as a woman, who have been raised as a woman, who have a passport as a woman and who have competed for many years as a woman.

"This is the clear definition of a woman. There was never any doubt about them being a woman."