Bulgarian boxer Svetlana Staneva sparked controversy following her loss to Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting, who was identified as having male XY chromosomes in a 2023 International Boxing Association (IBA) gender test.
After the unanimous decision defeat, Staneva made a gesture symbolizing female identity, emphasizing her stance on gender issues in women’s sports.
Lin, along with Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, was disqualified from the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships due to these gender test results but remains eligible to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, prompting ongoing debate about their participation in women’s events.
A fourth female boxer is knocked out of the Olympics by a male.
A defiant Staneva signals the anger we all feel 💪
“I am XX. I am a woman”#paris2024 #fairplayforwomen#SaveWomensSports pic.twitter.com/W6cs4pwRTo
— FairPlayForWomen (@fairplaywomen) August 4, 2024
“The problem was not with the level of Khelif’s testosterone, because that can be adjusted nowadays, but with the result of the gender test, which clearly revealed that the Algerian boxer is biologically male,” World Boxing Organization’s European Vice President István Kovács said.
Staneva’s coach also voiced concerns, suggesting Lin should not compete against female athletes.
“I’m not a medical person, so I shouldn’t say if Lin should compete or not,” Staneva’s coach Borislav Georgiev said. “But when the test shows she has Y (male) chromosomes, she could not be here.”
