Bulgarian coach slams 'circus' after fighter's loss to Taiwan's Lin
Lin Yu-ting, North Paris Arena, Villepinte, France, August 04, 2024. . REUTERS/Peter Cziborra
PARIS :Bulgarian boxing coach Borislav Georgiev said the gender debate engulfing the Paris Olympics had spilled over into the ring and influenced judges into awarding Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting a win over Svetlana Kamenova Staneva in Sunday's quarter-final fight.
Lin and Algeria's Imane Khelif have been at the centre of a social media storm in Paris due to them being disqualified at the 2023 World Championships after falling foul of unspecified International Boxing Association gender eligibility rules.
The boxing tournament in Paris is being organised by the International Olympic Committee, which stripped the IBA of international recognition in 2023 over governance and finance issues.
Lin and Khelif have ensured they will return home with medals after reaching the semi-finals of their respective categories.
In Sunday's featherweight bout, Lin opted to sit back and try to strike from range. She was also warned for elbowing by the referee early on and twice fell to the canvas after appearing to be tripped by Staneva.
The Taiwanese double world champion won the bout by unanimous decision after all five judges' scorecards marked her as the better fighter in the second and third rounds.
"You could see that the representative of Taiwan did not want to fight, she was running all the time, she was playing dirty as hell, the very first round was for an official warning for an elbow," Georgiev said.
"And these circus acts, when she fell ... In general I am indignant at the funfair that is taking place. They have decided to make them champions and that's it.
"I expected it, but I hope there are reasonable and honest people who will watch the game and support women's sports."
Staneva was one of the boxers that lost to Lin at last year's world championships. The result was overturned to a no-contest after Lin was disqualified.
IOC SUPPORT
The IOC has supported Lin and Khelif throughout the gender row, with President Thomas Bach saying on Saturday there "was never any doubt" that the two fighters were women who had every right to compete at the Paris Olympics.
On Sunday, the IOC alleged that the gender tests conducted by the IBA on the two fighters were flawed and illegitimate.
Asked if the IOC's support of the pair could have influenced the judges, Georgiev said: "100 per cent. If your bosses are supporting something, you also work to support it. There's no other way."
The Paris Boxing Unit (PBU), an ad-hoc unit established by the IOC's Executive Board to organise the boxing competition, said it stood by its referees and judges.
"We have confidence in the selection process for referees and judges officiating at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which was based on multi-steps, involving the vetting of officials, performance criteria, and a random draw," it added.
"Furthermore, each bout is independently evaluated by two individuals: one on the field of play and the other in a room with a video feed.
"The evaluations from these individuals, combined with the judges’ scores, are used to assess each judge's performance."
Georgiev said Staneva was not afraid of fighting Lin, adding: "Svetlana is a professional and the goal is to defeat the opponent on the other side.
"We had the qualities and we were sure we would beat (Lin), they just didn't let us."
Lin next faces Turkey's Esra Yildiz in the semi-finals.
