Opponent of boxer at centre of Olympics controversy appears to make protest in ring following fight
The opponent of one of two boxers at the heart of the gender eligibility row at the Paris Olympics appeared to make a cryptic gesture inside the ring.
On Saturday, Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-Ting, who reportedly failed an unspecified gender test at the World Championships in 2023 recorded a win over Svetlana Staneva.
As reported by talkSPORT, after the result was confirmed, the Bulgarian appeared to protest as she took off her gloves before making a double X symbol with her fingers.
Advert
SPORTbible has contacted the Bulgarian Olympic Committee for comment.
As per The Telegraph, who said: "Svetlana Staneva pulled off her gloves, pointed to herself and made a double tap X symbol with her fingers. It was an apparent reference to her female chromosomes and she also appeared to be shouting “no, no” after the fight."
Lin, along with Algeria’s Imane Khelif have been at the centre of the controversy after the pair were disqualified from the World Championships last year.
Khelif's opponent, Angela Carini of Italy pulled out of the bout after just 46 seconds.
Speaking afterwards, she said: “I have always honoured my country with loyalty. This time I didn't succeed because I couldn't fight anymore. So I put an end to the match.”
Amid the controversy, IOC president Thomas Bach said on Saturday: “Every woman who is, according to the rules, [a woman] then has to be allowed [to compete].
“When you speak about human rights then you have [to speak about] the human rights of every woman to participate in a woman’s competition — and I would like to quote the Italian boxer, who was competing against the Algerian [Imane Khelife].”
Bach added: “And I think this explains it all and this is what the Olympic spirit is all about. The respect for your opponent, whether you win or whether you lose and, by the way, both of these women have lost a number of fights.
“Imane has lost nine fights in international competition and there was never an issue about this. She has even been invited by the Italian Boxing Federation to train with her fellow Italian athletes in Italy and there was no issue.”
Marcus Chan