By Aadi Nair
PARIS (Reuters) -Lin Yu-ting beat Svetlana Kamenova Staneva of Bulgaria by a unanimous decision in a featherweight quarter-final fight on Sunday to ensure Taiwan’s third boxing medal at the Paris Olympics.
Lin and Algeria’s Imane Khelif have been at the centre of a social media storm at the Paris Games due to them being disqualified at the 2023 World Championships after falling foul of unspecified International Boxing Association’s gender eligibility rules.
“I know all of Taiwan’s people are standing behind me and supporting me, and I will carry this energy to the end,” Lin said after her win.
“Even though I won this match doesn’t mean I can relax, I still need to work hard.”
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said on Saturday there “was never any doubt” that Lin and Khelif were women who had every right to compete at the Paris Olympics.
The boxing tournament in Paris is being organised by the IOC, which stripped the IBA of international recognition in 2023 over governance and finance issues.
On Friday, the Bulgarian Olympic Committee said it had voiced its concerns over the two boxers’ presence at the tournament during a meeting with the IOC’s Medical and Scientific Commission on July 27.
In Saturday’s bout, the taller Lin attempted to sit back and let her opponent come to her in the first round, a strategy which had mixed results as she was struck with a few big shots.
In the second round, double world champion Lin was more direct and took the fight to Staneva, who showcased her frustration by grappling Lin and pushing her onto the canvas.
With a 3-0 lead heading into the final round, Lin once again tried to be evasive and found herself on the floor when she was accidentally tripped by Staneva, who held the ropes open for the Taiwanese boxer to exit the ring at the end of the fight.
Lin, who will face Turkey’s Esra Yildiz in the semi-finals, is assured of a medal, adding to compatriots Wu Shih-yi and Chen Nien-chin efforts from Saturday.
Algerian Khelif is also assured at least bronze after winning her welterweight quarter-final against Hungary’s Luca Anna Hamori by unanimous decision on Saturday.
The debate over Khelif and Lin’s participation in the tournament rocketed after the Algerian won her round-of-16 bout in 46 seconds on Thursday, when her Italian opponent Angela Carini pulled out of the fight.
Carini was hit with multiple punches in the first 30 seconds, before raising her hand and returning to her corner to withdraw from the fight, saying she had felt intense pain and was worried about her own safety.
After the bout, Carini said she did not harbour any ill feeling towards the Algerian.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair, additional reporting by James Pomfret in Taipei; Editing by Alison Williams)
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