Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Photo: MOHD RASFAN / AFP
Lin Yu-ting, one of two boxers at the centre of a gender dispute at last year's Paris Olympics, has no plans to skip the world championships in Liverpool, her coach Tseng Tzu-chiang told Reuters on Thursday.
On Wednesday, governing body World Boxing announced that women boxers at next month's world championships will have to undergo mandatory sex testing, as part of a new eligibility policy.
The policy comes just over a year after Taiwan's Lin and Algerian Imane Khelif both won gold in Paris amid a gender-eligibility row.
"Lin Yu-ting just returned from training in South Korea and we are waiting for notification from the Taiwan boxing governing body for signup details while preparing for the 2025 Boxing World Championships," Tseng said.
"She has not considered withdrawing from the competition because of the new gender tests. We will submit all the relevant documents requested by the organisers, as part of normal procedures."
World Boxing, which will oversee boxing competitions in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after being granted provisional recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC),
announced plans for testing in May.
"The policy is designed to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field for men and women," the body said in a statement on Wednesday.
Women boxers will undergo PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests using a nasal or mouth swab, saliva or blood, to check for the presence of the Y chromosome, World Boxing added. Men have an X and Y chromosome, while women have two X chromosomes.
Khelif had been due to compete in a World Boxing tournament in the Netherlands in June, but decided to skip it shortly after the body announced plans to introduce sex testing.
The 26-year-old has repeatedly said she was born a woman and in March said she would defend her title at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
On Wednesday, Khelif, who has not competed since her win in Paris, denied claims made by her former manager that she has retired from the sport.
New Zealand will have seven boxers at the World Championships in Liverpool in September. They are yet to undergo the sex test.
- Reuters
