Olympic champion's World Boxing withdrawal 'regrettable': Taiwan official

Taipei, Nov. 27 (CNA) The withdrawal of Taiwanese female boxer and Paris Olympic Games gold medalist Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) from World Boxing's year-end event in the United Kingdom after her eligibility was questioned is a regrettable development, Taiwan's top sports official said Wednesday.

Sports Administration (SA) Director-General Cheng Shih-chung (鄭世忠) described the development at the Nov. 27-30 World Boxing Cup Finals in Sheffield, England as "regrettable" in a statement released Wednesday, because Lin was already previously cleared to compete in women's boxing by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the Paris Games.

The World Boxing Cup Finals would have been Lin's first competition since winning gold in the women's 57-kilogram category at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, despite a gender eligibility row fueled by the International Boxing Association (IBA), according to the SA.

"The newly established World Boxing does not have a clear policy and rules like the IOC to protect athletes, nor comprehensive information or procedures to ensure confidentiality for us to submit Lin's medical records," Cheng said.

World Boxing also rejected a proposal for Lin to undergo a medical check in Sheffield, the SA said.

Taiwan joined World Boxing, which was set up in 2023, through the country's Chinese Taipei Boxing Association in mid-August. The Taiwanese delegation to the event in Sheffield, attended by boxers from over 20 countries, included Lin and Tokyo Games bronze medalist Huang Hsiao-wen (黃筱雯).

SA Deputy Director-General Fang Jui-wen (房瑞文) traveled to the U.K. in case there was a repeat of the gender row that placed an unwelcome spotlight on Lin during the Paris Summer Games, according to the statement.

Chen Yi-an (陳怡安), chair of the Gender Equity Committee of Taiwan's national Olympic committee, was also invited to attend the event because of her involvement in negotiations relating to the gender row during the Paris Games, the SA said.

Lin's coach Tseng Tzu-chiang (曾自強) held discussions with Chen and Chinese Taipei Boxing Association Secretary-General Peng Chun-ming (彭俊銘) before the decision to withdraw was made, according to the statement.

The Chinese Taipei Boxing Association had been asked to arrange face-to-face meetings with World Boxing, physician Lin Yin-chou (林瀛洲), a member of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee, and legal representatives, the SA said.

The meetings were aimed at clarifying Lin's eligibility and protecting her right to compete in the event, in the hope of helping World Boxing establish safe and effective internal controls so the new sport organization did not repeat the IBA's mistake, Cheng said in the SA statement.

Lin, a two-time IBA world champion in 2018 and 2022, was disqualified over gender eligibility after winning a bronze at the 2023 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in March that year.

The IOC suspended the IBA as the sport's recognized governing body in 2019 because of its lack of reforms and transparency, choosing to organize the boxing event for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo and Paris itself.

The IOC said a new international boxing body was needed for the sport to be included in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and urged members to sever their links with the IBA because of its questionable governance.

However, 25 members of the Asian Boxing Confederation voted down a proposal to break from the IBA during an extraordinary congress held in Bangkok on Nov. 23, a blow to the 55-member World Boxing as well as its plan to obtain IOC recognition and keep the sport in the 2028 Summer Games.