Lin Yu-ting books spot in gold medal match before beaten opponent makes ‘X’ sign

Lin Yu-ting, one of the fighters thrust into a gender eligibility row at the Olympics, reached the women’s featherweight final before her beaten opponent made an ‘X’ sign with her fingers.

Turkey’s Esra Yildiz Kahraman lost every round on the judges’ scorecards against Chinese Taipei fighter Lin, who joined Algeria middleweight Imane Khelif in reaching a gold medal match at Paris 2024.

After a friendly handshake, Kahraman held the ropes open for her opponent as she exited but then went to the centre of the ring and made an ‘X’ symbol with her two fingers to all areas of the crowd.

The gesture is the same as what Lin’s last opponent Svetlana Staneva did following her points loss to the top seed, but when asked to explain the signal, one of Kahraman’s team replied: “No comment.”

She added: “I am sad I didn’t go further and get to the final. But I will carry on to 2028 (Los Angeles Olympic Games) where I want to become the champion.”

The participation of Lin and Khelif at these Games has been under the microscope since it emerged both were disqualified from last year’s World Championships for failing to meet gender eligibility criteria.

Those championships were held under the auspices of the International Boxing Association, which has failed to provide any proof of its findings and was expelled last year by the International Olympic Committee over financial and corruption concerns.

While the two boxers have been allowed to return to competition by the IOC, which is administering the sport at these Games, the scrutiny intensified when Khelif beat Angela Carini of Italy in just 46 seconds in her opening bout last Thursday.

One day after Khelif booked her spot in the 66kg final with victory over Thailand’s Janjaem