Opponent of gender row boxer Lin Yu-Ting makes ‘double X’ gesture and coach shows ‘I only want to play with women’ note
LIN YU-TING’S defeated opponent made two X symbols with her fingers after losing to the gender-row boxer.
Svetlana Kamenova Staneva, 34, lost a unanimous points decision bout in the quarter-final of the women’s 57kg featherweight division.
That guaranteed both Lin and Imane Khelif a medal from the Olympics, 18 months after they were disqualified from the Women’s World Championships for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests.
And after defeat saw her miss out on a podium finish, a frustrated Staneva avoided eye contact with Lin before pointing to herself and using her index fingers to make the double cross symbol while shouting: “No, no.”
That could be a reference to the ongoing row, in which Lin is accused of having the XY chromosome, usually a male, rather than the general female XX code.
However, Staneva did not stop to speak to the press and therefore did not confirm that was the reason behind the gesture.
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But according to the her coach Borislov Georgiev walked through the press interview area carrying a piece of paper with a handwritten note by him that read: "I only want to play with women I am XX.”
The coach said: “This is maybe the message from every single woman boxer in this tournament.”
Georgiev claimed he wrote the words himself but suggested it was supported by Staneva before implying No1 seed Lin should not be allowed to fight in Paris.
He added: “I am not a medical person who should say if Lin could compete or not here.
Piers Morgan has his say
This is a more complicated case than the barrage of shameful transgender scandals which have engulfed women’s sport in recent years.
Khelif reportedly has a condition called Swyer Syndrome which means she has some female reproductive organs but also much higher levels of testosterone than women.
As a result, she has a superior physicality to females, which can be seen by her tall, powerful frame.
In other words, she has an unfair advantage.
And that’s why there’s been such a furious response, led by JK Rowling, Elon Musk, and Martina Navratilova, to the footage of Carini quitting after being smashed in the face.
The obvious, indisputable, medical, and scientific, truth is that someone born with male biology of any kind has an obvious physical advantage over biological females.
That’s why we keep the sexes apart in the Olympics.
Otherwise, women would barely win a single medal.
To pretend otherwise is to be either utterly deluded or wilfully dishonest.
Olympics gender controversy
THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) stirred up a huge controversy by clearing two women to box who had previously failed a gender test.
Algeria's Imane Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting were disqualified at the Women's World Championships in New Delhi, India, in March 2023.
Lin Yu-ting was stripped of a bronze medal after failing a gender eligibility test.
Khelif was disqualified in New Delhi for failing a testosterone level test.
Officials found tests showed they had 'XY chromosomes' — which indicates a person is biologically male.
Rare 'intersex' medical conditions, medically known as differences in sexual development (DSDs), can also mean outwardly female individuals can have 'male' chromosomes, or vice versa.
The Russia-led International Boxing Association organised that event but is no longer recognised by the IOC.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: "These athletes have competed many times before for many years, they haven't just suddenly arrived - they competed in Tokyo.
"The federation needs to make the rules to make sure that there is fairness but at the same time there is the ability for everyone to take part that wants to. That is a difficult balance.
"In the end the experts for each sport are the people who work in that. If there is a big advantage that clearly is not acceptable, but that needs to be a decision made at that level."
Both Khelif and Lin competed at the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Lin is a two-time winner at the Asian Women Amateur Boxing Championships.
The IOC said all boxers in Paris "comply with the competition's eligibility and entry regulations".
The controversy follows the famous case of Caster Semenya.
South African middle-distance runner Semenya has a condition which means her body naturally produces higher levels of testosterone than normal for women.
She won gold in the 800m at London 2012 and Rio in 2016 but was unable to compete at Tokyo in 2021 after World Athletics brought in new rules independently of the IOC at the time.
“But when the tests show that he or she has the Y chromosome she could not be here.”
Lin, 28, does not speak English and was not asked about the debate in her native language, but did confirm she has turned off her social media accounts for the Olympics and knows she has the full support of Taiwan.
Ahead of facing Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman in her semi-final at Roland Garros on Wednesday, she was said to have told Taiwanese TV: “It’s a very uneasy step. Winning this match doesn’t mean I can relax.
"I’ve received a lot of supportive messages. I haven’t read them because I shut down my social media.
“The entire population of Taiwan are supporting me so I am going to take that strength to hopefully go all the way to the end.”
The Russian-backed International Boxing Association booted both Khelif and Lin out of the New Delhi competition in March 2023, after Khelif beat Russian Azaliia Amineva, claiming they showed increased levels of testosterone and male XY chromosomes.
The IBA technical and competition rules from May 13, 2023 defines a “women/female/girl” as “an individual with chromosome XX”.
Then on June 5, 2023, the IBA sent a letter to the IOC to explain why they disqualified Khelif, explaining that her tests “concluded the boxer’s DNA was that of a male consisting of XY chromosomes”.
Khelif, 25, initially appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport before retracting, thus making the outcome “legally binding”.
It reportedly stated: “This situation epitomizes the importance of protecting safe sport, and the integrity of sport in which the Olympic Movement is jointly committed to.
“We are kindly writing to offer our support and cooperation on the matter as it directly impacts the safety of our boxers and the integrity of the [competition] results.
“In confidence, the IBA can share that Imane Khelif was disqualified from the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023 in New Delhi for breaching the IBA Technical and Competition Rules and was not medically eligible to participate in the event as a female boxer.
“Boxers can be submitted to a random and/or targeted gender test to confirm the above [females having XX chromosomes], which will serve for the gender eligibility criteria for the IBA competitions.
“We trust that you will give this matter the utmost attention it deserves, and you have our absolute support on doing what is necessary to ensure the safety of competing athletes.”
It also requested a “technical meeting” with the IOC but that did not take place.
Just 17 days later, on June 22, the IOC officially split from the IBA by announcing their recognition withdrawal - three years after initially suspending the IBA.
But IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said on Sunday: “There was indeed a letter, I can confirm that.
"But the conception of the test, to how the test was shared, to how the test has become public is so flawed, that it's impossible to engage with it. Those tests are not legitimate.
“It doesn't mean that there can't be a process in the future, that we can't discuss this. But with the credibility of the IBA, as it is, it doesn't give any credibility to those tests, or the method in which those tests were carried out.
“I think it is pretty disgraceful for those who have leaked that material, frankly. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and Sports Rights Alliance will tell you that these are severe attacks on the rights of these women involved. The whole process is flawed.”
But asked why the IOC will not do their own gender tests, Adams described it as a “minefield” and said on Friday: “There still is neither scientific nor political consensus on this issue. It's not a black-and-white issue.
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"I hope we are all agreed we aren't going to go back to the bad old days of sex testing. I know some of the athletes who underwent sex tests in their teens. It was pretty disgraceful.”
The IBA will hold a press conference today to go into detail on what exactly led to the disqualification of the two boxers from the world championships.