Taiwan's Champion Boxer Lin Yu-ting Faces Unwanted Fight Outside the Ring
Taiwanese boxer and gold medal hopeful Lin Yu-ting continues to face questions over her gender eligibility in the Olympics. That's despite the International Olympic Committee clearing her to compete and a distinguished and successful career before this issue emerged unexpectedly last year. Leslie Liao in Paris explains the controversy.
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00:00Taiwanese boxer Ling Yuting triumphed over Satora Turtabakova of Uzbekistan last night
00:07in the 57kg boxing category at the Olympics.
00:11Ling won by unanimous decision, but her stellar performance was overshadowed by a controversy
00:17which has dogged her since she arrived in Paris.
00:20To state the issue in its crudest terms, Ling is accused of being a man competing as a woman.
00:26Famous figures from writer J.K. Rowling to former U.S. President Donald Trump have spoken
00:31out against transgender women competing in sports, which they say is tantamount to letting
00:35a man beat a woman.
00:37Algerian boxer Iman Khalif has faced the same accusations, especially after her opening
00:42fight against Angela Carini of Italy lasted just 46 seconds.
00:48There's one big problem with those claims, though.
00:50Neither Ling or Khalif is transgender.
00:54Ling has lived as a woman her entire life, and her Taiwanese identity documents reflect
00:59that.
01:00Ling's Taiwanese ID number starts with 2, which means she was designated a female at
01:04birth.
01:06Now 28, she has competed for years as a woman, winning multiple golds at World Championship
01:12and Asian Championship levels.
01:14In 2022, she won gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, all without any questions over her
01:19gender.
01:21But last year, Ling was stripped of a World Championship bronze when the International
01:25Boxing Association said she failed a gender eligibility test.
01:29The IBA was not transparent about why Ling failed that test, and the International Olympic
01:34Committee later cleared both Ling and Khalif to compete in Paris.
01:38The IOC has also withdrawn its recognition of the IBA.
01:42But that hasn't stopped heated public debate.
01:44The home boxing association of Iman Khalif's next opponent is formally protesting the Algerian's
01:50inclusion.
01:51There is the potential for Ling's opponents to do the same.
01:55Now Ling Yuting is one of Taiwan's best boxers, and the country has rallied behind her.
02:01Former President Tsai Ing-wen and current President Lai Ching-teh have all shown Ling
02:05their support.
02:06As one of Taiwan's big metal hopefuls, Ling now has the unexpected pressure of dodging
02:11her place in a global culture war, as well as her opponent's punches.
02:15Howard Zhang, Leon Lien, and Leslie Liao in Paris, France for Taiwan Plus.
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