Tawain's Lin Yu-ting on August 4 was declared the winner of a women's boxing match over Bulgaria's Svetlana Kamenova Staneva -- prompting anger from the "indignant" Bulgarian coach, who claimed the gender controversy at the Paris Games influenced the judges' decision.
The action further heightened the debate brewing at the Paris Olympics and has raised questions from various boxing federations, including those of Hungary and Bulgaria, after two boxers who were disqualified from the World Championships last year were allowed to compete in Paris and went on to defeat their countries' participants.
Tawain's Lin and Algeria's Imane Khelif have been at the center of the storm, which came under sharper focus on August 1 when Khelif won her opening bout against Angela Carini of Italy, who tearfully pulled out of the fight after sustaining a series of crushing blows in the first 46 seconds of the bout.
SEE ALSO: Gender Controversy Rages As Khelif Beats Hungary's Hamori To Win Olympic Boxing MedalLin and Khelif were disqualified at the 2023 World Championships after failing unspecified International Boxing Association (IBA) gender-eligibility rules but were allowed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete in Paris.
Both have reached the semifinals of their weight classes.
In the 57-kilogram quarterfinal match on August 4, Lin held back and attempted to strike Staneva from distance, according to Reuters. She received a warning from the referee for elbowing and twice went to the canvas after appearing to be tripped by the Bulgarian.
Lin, a two-time world champion, won the match by unanimous decision as all five judges marked her as the better fighter in the second and third rounds. Lin is now assured of winning at least a bronze medal.
Borislav Georgiev, the Bulgarian coach, claimed the gender debate influenced the judges into awarding Lin the win over Staneva.
"You could see that [Lin] did not want to fight," Georgiev said. "She was running all the time. She was playing dirty as hell, the very first round was for an official warning for an elbow."
"In general, I am indignant at the circus that is taking place. They have decided to make them champions and that's it," he added.
"I expected it, but I hope there are reasonable and honest people who will watch the game and support women's sports."
"We had the qualities and we were sure we would beat [Lin]. They just didn't let us," the coach said. Staneva did not immediately comment.
The 34-year-old Staneva had also lost to Lin at the World Championships, but that result was overturned and declared a no contest after Lin was disqualified.
IOC President Thomas Bach repeated on August 4 that there "was never any doubt" that Khelif and Lin were women and had every right to compete at the Paris Olympics.
The IOC alleged that the IBA gender tests were flawed and illegitimate.
Asked if the support of IOC leaders for the fighters might have helped sway the judges, Georgiev said: "100 percent. If your bosses are supporting something, you also work to support it. There's no other way."
Following the match, Lin did not mention the controversy and said she had stopped looking at social media before she began her Olympic quest.
Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's first female president, wrote "Let's cheer for Lin Yu-ting together" in a Facebook post before the bout.