Boxer Lin Yu-ting is looking to follow in Imane Khelif’s footsteps into an Olympic final and a shot at gold when she fights in the semi-final tonight, as Taiwan threatens legal action over eligibility claims

An Olympic boxer who has been at the centre of an intense gender dispute is preparing to step into the ring tonight for a chance to reach the featherweight final and have a shot at gold.

Lin Yu-ting is competing in Paris after being banned from last year’s World Championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA), which claimed she had failed gender eligibility tests.

The Taiwanese fighter will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Algerian welterweight Imane Khelif in the final of her category, a boxer who has also been banned by the IBA and has come under fierce attack for her participation in the games.

The IBA’s chief executive said last week that XY male chromosomes were found in “both cases” but the association has been unable to provide proof and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has questioned the accuracy of the tests.

Now Taiwan’s sports administration is threatening legal action against the controversial boxing organization for its “continuous publication of false information” regarding Lin’s eligibility.

The Russian-led IBA has been suspended by the IOC since 2019 over concerns about its finances, governance and refereeing, and was stripped of its regulatory status last year.

It has been repeatedly claimed that the IOC is putting female athletes at risk by allowing Lin and Khelif to participate in the games, having previously prevented them from doing so.

Both Lin and Khelif were registered female at birth, and The IOC has strongly defended its participation in the Games.

President Thomas Bach said there was “never any doubt” that they were both women.

“We have two boxers who were born as women, who have been raised as women, who have a women’s passport and who have competed for many years as women. That is the clear definition of a woman.”

But the IBA doubled down on its claims on Monday, when its chief, Umar Kremlev, said during a video conference from a Moscow office that the athletes had been found to have “a male level of testosterone.”

Meanwhile, IBA chief executive Chris Roberts, a former head of Scottish boxing, said athletes had taken chromosome tests rather than testosterone.

Taiwan’s sports administration has since expressed anger at the organisation’s continued comments on Lin’s case in a statement issued yesterday.

A spokesman said: ‘The sports administration seriously protests the continued publication of false information by the International Boxing Association, concealing the facts and attempting to interfere with the normal conduct of the event without taking into account the rights and interests of the athletes.

“The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee has also appointed a lawyer to send a warning letter to the IBA. It reserves the right to appeal and will file a lawsuit if necessary.”

Lin will face Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman in Wednesday’s semi-finals and is guaranteed a bronze medal even if she loses.

The fight comes after the 28-year-old defeated Bulgarian Svetlana Staneva by unanimous decision earlier this week.

The 34-year-old Bulgarian fighter left the arena shouting “no, no” and making a cross with her fingers, and her coach suggested Lin should not be allowed to compete.

“I’m not a doctor who should say whether Lin can compete here or not, but when the test shows he has the Y chromosome, he should not be here,” Borislav Georgiev told BBC Sport.

After the fight, Lin refused to be drawn into the current controversy and said he was instead focusing his energy on the fight.

“I have received many messages of support from my country and from the people of Paris. I thank them,” he said. “But I have not been able to read them because I have closed my social networks.

“I’m going to keep going and go for the gold medal. I’ve won a bronze medal, but I want to win the gold.”