Uzbek boxer Sitora Turdibekova was photographed crying as she left the ring after losing an Olympic boxing match to Lin Yu-ting, a fighter who “failed the gender test”.
Turdibekova faced brutal blows from her Taiwanese opponent and lost on points while crying in the ring.
Lin is one of two boxers at the Games who were disqualified from the Women’s World Boxing Championships last year because they failed a gender eligibility test along with Algeria’s Imane Khelif.
Turdibekova also opted not to shake hands with Lin after the bell ended their fight in the 57-kilogram featherweight class.
Lin, a two-time gold medalist at the World and Asian Championships who is reported to have 40 wins and 14 losses as an amateur, was ranked as the top seed at the event.
Uzbek boxer Sitora Turdibekova was seen crying after losing to Lin Yu-Ting
Turdibekova was left in tears after losing to the boxer, who failed a gender eligibility test for last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships.
Lin (pictured) won her opening fight at the women’s featherweight boxing event.
Lin scored a unanimous decision victory over Turdibekova (right) at the North Paris Arena
Lin’s victory comes a day after controversy erupted when Algeria’s Imane Khelif won her first fight at the women’s welterweight event amid an eligibility dispute.
Carini was hit twice by Khelif in the first round of their women’s welterweight fight in Paris.
The blows appeared to rip the Italian boxer’s chin strap off, and she headed to her corner.
Carini returned to the center of the ring and abandoned the fight after 46 seconds, leading to Khelif being declared the winner.
The Italian boxer, who had said before the fight that she “could only adapt to the rules of the Olympic Games”, was later seen crying in the centre of the ring after the abrupt conclusion of the fight.
The International Boxing Association (IBA), which has had its recognition stripped amid a series of governance issues, disqualified Khelif and Lin from the Women’s World Boxing Championships last year.
Lin had won the bronze medal, after winning three fights before losing in the semifinals to Karina Ibragimova of Kazakhstan.
The IBA subsequently stripped Lin of his medal, claiming that the boxer had not met eligibility requirements.
Turdibekova struggled to contain her emotions as the judges’ scores were read out.
He also refused to shake hands with his controversial opponent after the defeat.
Turdibekova was clearly shaken after losing her first round bout at the Olympics.
The IBA said the tests were conducted at its 2022 and 2023 World Championships, and that Lin did not exercise the option to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Neither Khelif nor Lin have ever identified as male, transgender, or intersex.
According to feminist website Reduxx, both are believed to be affected by a Difference of Sex Development (DSD), a series of medical conditions identified at birth where the genitals are atypical in relation to the chromosomes.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) released a statement on Wednesday, saying its decisions were made “after a meticulous review.”
The IBA said none of the athletes underwent testosterone testing but were instead “subject to a separate, recognised test” that was carried out at its 2022 and 2023 World Championships.
The tests are said to have “conclusively indicated that both athletes did not meet the necessary eligibility criteria required” and that “both female boxers were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.”
The IBA attacked the IOC, saying its different regulations “raise serious questions about competitive fairness and athlete safety.”
The IBA is not responsible for the Olympic competition being stripped of its recognition by the IOC amid ongoing governance issues (the organisation established the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit to organise the event).
The IOC then issued an equally strongly worded statement in response on Friday: “All athletes participating in the boxing tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games comply with the competition eligibility and entry regulations, as well as all applicable medical regulations set out by the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit. In previous Olympic boxing competitions, the gender and age of athletes have been based on their passport.
The International Boxing Association, led by President Umar Kremlev, had disqualified Lin and Khelif from the World Championships on the grounds that they failed eligibility tests.
Algeria’s Imane Khelif, left, won the women’s welterweight bout when Angela Carini, right, abandoned the fight after 46 seconds.
The Italian boxer fell to her knees after withdrawing and was seen crying in the ring
‘Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process. According to the IBA minutes available on their website, this decision was initially taken solely by the IBA Secretary General and CEO.’
They added: “The current aggression against these two athletes is entirely based on this arbitrary decision, which was taken without any proper procedure, especially considering that these athletes had been competing in high-level competitions for many years,” the statement continued.
The Boxing Unit approved the participation of both boxers under the rules in force for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which are less strict than those of the IBA.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams warned against a “witch hunt” against the two boxers allowed to compete in Paris and criticised misinformation, stressing that the cases are not a transgender issue.
Adams had urged a “tone down” on the rhetoric, adding that they were “totally comfortable with the rules” that had previously been used at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics.