Gender row boxer Lin Yu-ting slams ‘false’ IBA test and accuses organisation of ‘deliberately going after me’ – as she reveals people question which bathroom she uses

Lin Yu-ting dismissed the IBA’s test and accused them of ‘deliberately’ attacking 
She finds comments ‘annoying’ but defended people’s right to question her
Lin revealed how she fell into boxing and opened up on her humble background

Lin Yu-ting has rebuked the IBA and accused the boxing organisation of ‘deliberately’ attacking her with a ‘false’ gender test.

The Taiwanese boxer was one of two thrown out of the 2023 Boxing World Championships due to failing the IBA’s mysterious test, an issue which has caused a storm at the Paris Olympics.

Lin, who will compete in Saturday’s women’s featherweight final, revealed she is questioned in the bathroom but can brush off any hate and has no desire to quit.

In a stoic interview, Lin said she understands people’s questions due to her appearance and respects ‘free speech’ but would rather have a low profile.

‘Of course it annoys you when reading some remarks, but all we can do is tell ourselves we can’t control what they say. Let them talk the talk, but I have a clear conscience on this,’ Lin told CNA English News.

Lin Yu-ting branded the IBA’s gender test – which purportedly found male DNA – as ‘false’

The Taiwanese fighter is one of two at the Olympics who were disqualified from last year’s Boxing World Championships 

Lin understands why people question her due to her appearance and values ‘free speech’

‘After all, we have proven it false (the IBA’s test), and the process didn’t follow any standards, but there was still a fuss.

‘I wonder if they were deliberately going after me. I was confused. It was kind of ridiculous.

‘What I cared about most was I was stripped of a medal (she had won bronze) despite working hard and a source of income was gone. As for what others or the haters said, I don’t really care,’ she said in the interview filmed ahead of the Olympics but only recently released.

On Monday, the IBA’s Russian chief Umar Kremlev held an extraordinary press conference in which he labelled Lin and Imane Khelif ‘men’.

The IBA – discredited by the International Olympic Committee – claimed Lin had male XY chromosomes and that two blood tests indicated she was a man.

However, she was reportedly registered female at birth and has never identified otherwise, like Khelif.

‘We don’t verify what they have between their legs. We don’t know if they were born like that, or if some changes were made,’ said Kremlev, insisting they had done two tests. ‘The second tests confirmed the first tests. If people have doubts, refer to them. They can make their own tests.’

Olympic organisers have branded the IBA’s testing ‘so flawed that it’s impossible to engage with it,’ but the IOC does not run any gender tests of their own, simply going off athletes’ passports.

The International Boxing Association (IBA) held a bizarre press conference on Monday where they further called into question the eligibility of Lin and Imane Khelif 

Algerian boxer Khelif’s participation in the women’s boxing has been contentious as well

Lin has felt personally targeted by the IBA but said she would not ‘cater to your stereotypes’ 

‘I would say it’s probably because of my appearance. It draws a lot of attention,’ Lin explained.

‘Sometimes when I go to the restroom, I get asked: “Is that the right one?” Then I would tell them I’m a woman.

‘It’s probably also because of my height and hairstyle. I would say I’ve always just been who I am.

‘After all, I’m a boxer. I want to pursue better results and better achievements. I would prefer to focus on improving my performance.

‘If I wore my hair long, I would have had to spend a lot of time fixing it and I might not have had the time to rest between my morning and afternoon routines.

‘Without the proper rest, how could I train hard?

‘As for the media, they like to package it this way. I can’t control it this way. After all, we live in such a free and democratic society. Everyone has freedom of speech.

‘You can say what you want to say, but I can also decide what I want to do. I don’t have to cater to your stereotypes.’

Lin, 28, explained that she keeps low-maintenance short hair so she can rest properly 

Uzbekistani boxer Sitora Turdibekova was seen crying after losing to Lin Yu-Ting

Turdibekova could not hold back the tears after losing to the heavy-punching Taiwanese boxer

Lin will face Poland’s Julia Szeremeta in the featherweight gold medal fight on Saturday.

Her route through the Olympics has been laced with controversy.

Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova was reduced to tears after a flurry of punishing blows in her three-round fight with Lin last week, prompting a furious reaction from the public.

‘Shame on the IOC for allowing this,’ wrote one user on X. Another added: ‘This is beyond absurd’.

And after Esra Yildiz Kahraman lost to Lin in the semi-finals on Wednesday, the Turkish fighter made the ‘X’ sign to seemingly question her s~x.

Many believe the gesture was made to signal XX female chromosomes and it was seen as inflammatory, but Kahraman declined to comment after. Svetlana Staneva of Bulgaria had done the same in the round before.

In her interview with CNA English News, Lin revealed that as a child she had wanted to play badminton or basketball but could not join the clubs as they were oversubscribed, so opted for boxing instead.

At times the 28-year-old from a humble background has considered quitting but she has an insatiable drive to carry on.

Esra Yildiz Kahraman did an X sign to object her Olympic semi-final loss to Lin on Wednesday

The two fighters congratulated each other and Kahraman held the ropes open for Lin

In the previous round, Svetlana Staneva made the same ‘X’ gesture after losing out to Lin

‘I want to give it up every once in a while. It could be when you lose a bout or when you get chewed out for bad performances,’ she said.

‘It’s easy to quit, but it’s hard to keep working hard. I won’t give it up easily because that means I’m giving up on all my effort over the years.

‘I grew up in a single-parent family. It was quite tough for my mum to raise four kids single-handedly,’ adding that a goal was to ‘improve her family’s life’ growing up.

‘I would say it’s my pursuit of my dream that makes me strong.’