TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two-time world champion Taiwanese female boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) was stripped of her bronze medal on Sunday (March 26) over an alleged abnormality with her pre-fight gender test.

At the International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships, Lin initially earned her a bronze medal in the women's 57 kg featherweight category. However, as Lin was preparing to receive her bronze medal, officials at the last minute stripped her of the medal and awarded it to Bulgaria's Staneva Svetlana Kamenova, who had lost to Lin in the quarter-finals.

Officials did not provide an explanation to Lin or her coach John Tseng (曾自強) at the time why she had been disqualified. Later that day, the Chinese Taipei Boxing Association announced that Lin's pre-match gender test taken on March 16 had come back with an abnormality and that the report would be sent to the association, which can appeal the decision through official channels, reported UDN.

Lin is a highly decorated athlete, having won gold medals at the 2018 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi in the bantamweight category and at the 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Istanbul in the featherweight class. She also took gold at the 2017 Asian Women's Amateur Boxing Championships in Ho Chi Minh City and the 2019 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in Bangkok and has never failed a gender test in the past.

Secretary-General of the Chinese Taipei Boxing Association, Peng Chun-ming (彭俊銘) was cited by CNA as saying that the organization was sorry to hear the news and will appeal the decision. Peng said coaches and athletes are frustrated by the announcement and are still dealing with the disappointment.

Peng said the association will wait for the team to return to Taiwan next week and the official report from IBA to confirm the detailed reasons for the disqualification before issuing a response and taking action.

Regarding the incident, Mirror Media said because female competitors such as Lin have to carry out weight control and adjust their menstrual cycles to match the competition schedule, they may take certain medications that impact their hormonal levels, possibly leading to the abnormality with Lin's gender test results in this case.