ASIAN GAMES/Lin Yu-ting sets sights on LA Olympics after winning Asian Games gold

Nagoya, Oct. 2 (CNA) Taiwanese Olympic boxing champion Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) is looking toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after winning gold at the Asian Games on Friday, following a period when uncertainty over gender-testing procedures kept her out of competition.

The 30-year-old defeated China's Yang Chengyu (楊成宇) by unanimous decision in the women's 60-kilogram final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, securing her second consecutive Asian Games title.

It was Lin's first international title since moving up from 57 kg, the division in which she won gold at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

For Lin, the medal represented more than success in a heavier division. World Boxing cleared her to return in March following a gender eligibility test, ending a 19-month absence from competition.

"I'm a boxer. I'm not afraid of losing in the ring. What scares me is not even having the chance to step into it," Lin said.

She described training without knowing when she could compete again as deeply distressing.

"At that time, I was really suffering. I couldn't see a future or any competitions ahead. Every day, I could only train without a goal," she said, adding that she sometimes wanted to avoid her coach because she did not know what else she could do.

In an AFP interview published Sept. 4, Lin said winning Olympic gold had made her consider retirement because she felt she had achieved everything she had worked for. She chose to continue out of loyalty to her team and a desire to explore her potential.

Lin credited coach Tseng Tzu-chiang (曾自強), friends and supporters with helping her persevere, thanking Tseng for working to resolve the issues preventing her return.

Returning at this year's Asian Boxing Elite Boxing championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Lin won bronze but said the experience revealed room for improvement at 60 kg.

"I will never forget what it felt like to see that first light," she said tearfully. "Just when I was about to give up, there were still so many people supporting me."

Lin and Tseng are now looking toward Los Angeles, though she said she would await her coach's plans.

"I'm in my 30s now," she said with a smile. "I'm no longer the young person I once was."