Olympics 2024: Lin Yu-Ting shrugs off eligibility row to win featherweight gold medal in Paris Games

Olympics 2024: Lin Yu-Ting shrugs off eligibility row to win featherweight gold medal in Paris Games | Boxing News

August 11, 2024:

Lin Yu-Ting ultimately outclassed Poland’s Julia Szeremeta to win the Olympic featherweight final at Roland Garros.

She sealed a 30-27 decision win for all five judges after three rounds.

Along with Algeria’s Imane Khelif, Lin has had to face accusations about her eligibility to box in the Games throughout the tournament. But that storm of controversy has not stopped either Khelif or now Lin from winning Olympic gold.

The Chinese Taipei boxer told a press conference: “As a elite athlete during the competition it’s important to shut myself off from social media and to focus.

“Some of the noises and some of the news articles, of course I heard some of the information through my coach but I didn’t pay too much mind to it.

“I was invited by the IOC to compete in the Games, I focused on the Games. As for other issues I relied on my coach to answer the questions.”

How Lin won gold

At the opening bell Lin rushed out to claim the centre of the ring, letting her fists fly. Szeremeta, however, did skilfully bob under the shots. But Lin kept up that busy start, she clearly wanted to stamp her authority on the contest and not let this opportunity slip away from her.

That approach paid off, seeing her sweep the first round. She took that advantage into the second.

Lin switched stances to box southpaw for a moment at the start of that round, showing off her skills.

Szeremeta slipped under punches again, but rearing back up another back-hand right caught her flush.

The Pole, though, slugged back and did land on Lin. The Taiwanese boxer then held her ground to fire off punches. They traded blows but Lin got the better of the brief fire-fight and eventually backed Szeremeta up.

Lin finished the round catching Szeremeta with a deft lead left hook.

With a commanding lead, Lin could box and move at range, leaving Szeremeta to chase her and the bout to no avail.

“Every fight is not easy. Winning 5-0 might seem easy but behind that is a lot of practise and hard work,” Lin said afterwards.

She, like Algeria’s Khelif, does meet the IOC’s eligibility criteria though they were both disqualified from the World Championships in 2023 with the International Boxing Association (IBA) ruling them out of boxing in women’s categories.

However the nature of that eligibility test remains unspecified and the IBA has a host of questions around its own credibility that remain unanswered. IBA has been banned from running the Olympic boxing tournament by the IOC due to corruption allegations and financial transparency.

That has not prevented Lin and Khelif’s right to box at Paris 2024 from being placed under scrutiny. But despite that pressure Lin has also managed to join Khelif as an Olympic champion.

“I feel incredible. I want to thank everyone who has supported me and thanks to my team and everyone in Taiwan,” Lin said.

“They gave me the power.”

Khelif files legal complaint over online harassment

Meanwhile, Khelif has filed a formal legal complaint, citing being the victim of online harassment, her lawyer said on Saturday.

Khelif, who won the gold medal in the women’s welterweight category on Friday, has along with Lin, been the subject of heated debate on social media.

The 25-year-old’s lawyer Nabil Boudi told Reuters the complaint was filed on Friday.

“All that is being said about me on social media is immoral. I want to change the minds of people around the world,” Khelif said on Saturday.

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app – giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost.

Source link

tags

Abkhazia Afghanistan Africa Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curacao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guam Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Northern Cyprus Norway Oman Pakistan Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Lucia Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda UK Ukraine United Arab Emirates Uruguay USA Uzbekistan Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe