November 23, 2024
The Lords of the Olympics are fine and dandy allowing fighters with the chromosomes of a male to fight female boxers. But on Wednesday, a second protest from a defeated boxer was a gesture seen around the world. Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting became the second fighter with male chromosomes heading for...

The Lords of the Olympics are fine and dandy allowing fighters with the chromosomes of a male to fight female boxers.

But on Wednesday, a second protest from a defeated boxer was a gesture seen around the world.

Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting became the second fighter with male chromosomes heading for a gold medal fight on Wednesday after defeating Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman.

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After losing, Kahraman made the double ‘X’ sign with her index fingers, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail.

The protest was similar to one made by Bulgarian female boxer Svetlana Staneva after losing to Lin in the quarter-finals.

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Kahraman made no other signs of protest, touching gloves with Lin after the fight and holding a ring rope for Lin to exit the ring.

Asked about her gesture, Kahraman replied, “No comment.”

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who, like Lin, has an X and a Y chromosome, will be fighting for a gold medal in a different weight class.

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Although many have commented about the fairness of fighters with male chromosomes fighting females, the International Olympic Committee has defended its policy of allowing them — a policy contrary to the International Boxing Association, which banned the two from fighting in female events.

“We will not take part in a politically motivated … cultural war,” IOC President Thomas Bach said, calling objections to the IOC’s policy “hate speech,” according to ABC.

“What is going on in this context in the social media with all this hate speech, with this aggression and abuse, and fueled by this agenda, is totally unacceptable,” he said.

In a statement, the IBA fired back, saying it has “concern over the inconsistent application of eligibility criteria by other sporting organizations, including those overseeing the Olympic Games,” the statement said.

“The IOC’s differing regulations on these matters, in which IBA is not involved, raise serious questions about both competitive fairness and athletes’ safety,” the statement said.