OLYMPICS/Boxer Lin Yu-ting tears up, vows to keep fighting after Olympic gold win

Paris, Aug. 10 (CNA) Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) broke down in tears after winning her country's first-ever Olympic gold medal in boxing on Saturday, expressing gratitude for the unwavering support she received from the people of Taiwan.

Lin, 28, defeated Julia Szeremeta of Poland by a 5-0 unanimous decision to clinch the gold in the women's 57-kilogram (featherweight) division in Paris, completing a long journey of redemption after an early exit in the Tokyo Games three years ago.

After her victory, Lin kissed the mat and was visibly emotional during the medal ceremony as Taiwan's national flag anthem played. She said that memories of her rigorous training and the hardships she endured flashed before her eyes while she was standing on the podium.

"From the moment I started boxing until now, all the hardships of training came rushing back. I teared up because winning this medal for my country means so much. So many people in Taiwan have believed in me and supported me," she said.

Addressing the recent scrutiny she faced over misconceptions about her gender, Lin said that she had stayed off social media throughout the competition, choosing to focus solely on her performance and leaving other matters in the hands of her coach.

"As a top athlete, it is crucial to stay focused on the game. All I need to know is who my opponent is and how to prepare for the next match."

Lin said she is incredibly honored to win Taiwan's first Olympic boxing gold medal, and vowed to continue pushing herself further.

"I believe I am here for a special purpose, and I will continue to work hard."

Lin, who has been competing in women's events since her boxing debut in September 2013, is the first Taiwanese pugilist to win gold, after three other Taiwanese women boxers earned bronze medals in their respective divisions in Tokyo and Paris.

No male boxers from Taiwan have ever medaled at the Games.

Lin and Imane Khelif of Algeria have been caught in a firestorm of gender scrutiny during the Games as tensions between the International Boxing Association (IBA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) intensified.

The IBA was suspended from running the Olympic boxing competition in 2019 and permanently stripped of its Olympic credentials in 2023 because of its troubled governance and lack of transparency.

But that did not stop it from firing accusations at the two during the Olympics that they should not be competing in Paris in the women's boxing event.

Its bluster stems from its disqualification of Lin and Khelif at the Women's World Championships in 2023 for failing undisclosed gender-related tests, which the IOC has criticized.

The IOC has referred to the two boxers recently as "victims of sudden and arbitrary decisions by the IBA" and repeatedly affirmed over the past two weeks the eligibility of both athletes for the Games, citing their passports and being identified as female since birth.

That support, however, has not stopped some of their opponents from protesting the issue after losing their bouts.

Khelif secured her gold in the women's 66 kg division on Friday, after which she reiterated her identity as "a woman like any other woman."

Saturday's victory saw Lin join Khelif in silencing the noise from outside the ring.

With this accomplishment, the 28-year-old pugilist from Taiwan achieved a golden Grand Slam in her amateur boxing career, adding to her two world championships, two Asian championships, and one Asian Games gold.

Lin's victory also boosted Taiwan's medal count to two golds and five bronzes, marking the third time the team has won two golds in a single edition of the Games.

Taiwan's other gold in Paris was won by the badminton duo of Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) in the men's doubles.