OLYMPICS/Boxing gender row stems from IBA, IOC dispute: USA Boxing head

Taipei, Aug. 3 (CNA) The recent dispute over the gender eligibility of two female Olympic boxers, including Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷), is part of a broader conflict orchestrated by the International Boxing Association (IBA) against the International Olympic Committee (IOC), according to the head of USA Boxing.

The IBA previously defended its decision to disqualify Lin and Imane Khelif of Algeria, who respectively compete in the women's 57 kilogram and 66 kg, at the 2023 Women's World Boxing Championships, citing concerns about potential harm to their opponents and fairness.

However, Mike McAtee, USA Boxing's executive director and CEO, suggested to The Washington Post that the conflict between the agency and the IOC could be the root of the controversy.

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According to McAtee, many officials within his organization anticipated that Umar Kremlev, IBA president, might try to disrupt the boxing program in Paris to see the Olympic boxing events fail.

This is the second consecutive Olympics in which the IBA has not managed the boxing events. The IOC suspended the boxing association in 2019 and revoked its recognition in 2023 due to corruption scandals and financial mismanagement.

In the IBA's place, the IOC established the Paris Boxing Unit to oversee the event and is looking forward to a new federation taking over for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, as stated in the IOC's announcement on Friday.

McAtee, who has known Lin and Khelif for many years, suggested that the IBA's disciplinary measures against Lin and Khelif were disproportionate to the seriousness of the case as asserted by the IBA, and questioned the timing of the IBA's actions.

"Why were they just disqualified; why weren't they suspended?" McAtee was quoted as saying. "Why wasn't this issue raised when they fought in the Olympic qualifiers? Why did it only come up once they got there?"

At Friday's briefing, the IOC reaffirmed its support for the participation of all boxers in the Paris Games, stating that "[Lin and Khelif] were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA."

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The statement followed Khelif's victory on Aug. 1 over Italy's Angela Carini, who forfeited in tears just 46 seconds into the bout after taking a couple of powerful blows to the face from the Algerian pugilist. The clip has been widely shared by politicians and public figures.

One day after her loss, Carini told the Italian press, Gazzetta dello Sport, that she did not intend to subject Khelif to further scrutiny regarding her gender eligibility; instead, she was angry because "my Games had already gone up in smoke."

She expressed regret and apologized, saying she would "like to give [Khelif] a hug" if they meet again.

Meanwhile, Japanese boxer Sena Irie, who won the women's 57 kg division at the Tokyo Olympics, voiced support for Lin in recent days.

"Of course, there is a need to quickly establish a clear distinction between what defines a woman and what defines a man, but as someone who knows Miss Lin's intense training, it makes me feel a little sad," she wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.

Irie lost to Lin in the final at the 2020 Asia & Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament by unanimous decision. Before the 2022 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships, Irie once said that she could not call herself No. 1 in the world "without defeating Lin Yu-ting."

Carini's remarks may signal her intention to close the controversy, but it appears the IBA had other plans.

On Friday, the IBA issued a statement announcing that despite her loss to Khelif, Kremlev has decided to award Carini US$50,000 "as if she were an Olympic champion."

This amount matches the prize money the IBA president decided in May to award Olympic champions in Paris, an unprecedented move by the Russian-led boxing agency, described as "underpinning the IBA's commitment to delivering the best support for its athletes."

The IBA will also grant the same amount to Sitora Turdibekova of Uzbekistan, who lost to Lin in the round of 16 later that day.