Chinese Taipei's Lin Yu-Ting beats Poland's Julia Szeremeta to win the Olympic featherweight gold medal; like Algeria's Imane Khelif, Lin has had to face accusations about her eligibility to box in the Games; Khelif files legal complaint about online harassment
Sunday 11 August 2024 11:04, UK
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."
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."
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.
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