Boxer Lin Yu-ting cleared to return after gender eligibility ruling

Boxing isn't safe for anyone because it currently causes repeated concussive injuries, irrespective of the sex of the opponent which hugely increases the risk of many problems (significantly premature death through dementia, see also coroners comments on mental health re Barry McGuigan death) even if the immediate risks are less with a same sex opponent.

We know from multiple studies of footballers just heading the ball causing the same issues as boxing, that the strength of the impact causing concussive injuries doesn't matter. Many studies show the same with rugby and American football.

Until blows to the head are banned from boxing, it can never be considered to be a safe sport.

That is exactly the same DSD which Caster Semenya, Francine Niyonsaba, Margaret Wambui, Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi have, amongst others. The last two, Mboma and Masilingi share the same coach, which says to me, that athletes with these conditions are being deliberately targeted, in order to compete in the women's category.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caster_Semenya
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francine_Niyonsaba
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Wambui
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Mboma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Masilingi

In fairness to World Boxing, they are categorical about trans athletes being welcome to participate - but only in the category appropriate to their sex.

6. Transgender Policy:
6.1
World Boxing also wishes the sport of Boxing to be as inclusive as possible, and to encourage and provide a clear path to participation in the sport for all. World Boxing has determined that to ensure safety, competitive fairness, and equal treatment for all athletes, it is essential that strict sex based categories determined by sex at birth be maintained and enforced.
6.2
Boxers who identify as transgender are welcome to compete in the category of their birth sex in the sport of Olympic-style boxing under the same conditions applicable to all athletes in that sex, age, and weight category. All transgender boxers are responsible for complying with all World Boxing policies, rules, and all applicable Anti-Doping rules.
World-Boxing-Sex-Eligibility-PolicyFINAL20Aug25.pdf

It would be great if all sporting organisations had rules like this!

Well that makes it simple!
Testies = male
Ovaries = female

Even if the chromosomes aren't quite right or they are dysfunctional one is male one is female. If male wants to argue his don't work then he might qualify for para games but hes not female
Simple

My notes say that Imane Khelif has this DSD:
DSD 46 XY with a deficiency of 5-alpha-reductase hormone (alpha reductase deficiency or ARD) - XY DSD 5-ARD

So does Lin Yu-ting have a different DSD? maybe one of that tiny number of cases where the presence of a Y chromosome is not a straightforward indicator of maleness?

As Helleofabore says, this decision appears to be in line with WBs rules on testing, and does not mean necessarily mean that Khelif's test would have the same outcome.

Khelif will be a more challenging test case - there is so much other evidence that points to him being very clearly a man.
I accept that he is a man who was genuinely believed to be a girl at birth and brought up as a girl - I know that is an unpopular and minority opinion here, but anyway, what he was brought up as, or what he thinks he is is irrelevant to eligibility.

Also worth remembering that each country is responsible for testing their athletes and providing results…. As we said at the time - nothing to worry about with that!!!🤯😳

I suspect that there will also start to be studies reviewing just what changes to bodies are present due to non-testosterone derived changes. Including for instance, whether male coded receptors are more sensitive to other hormones as an example, and therefore build physical advantages.

Handelsman and Tomkinson have potentially started this looking at male children and what is derived from the mini-puberty they refer to as infants and what is derived from other differences in biology etc.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5142027-save-female-sports-evidence-thread?reply=151170024&utm_campaign=reply&utm_medium=share

I suspect there will be quite a bit more attention paid to studying these differences now. There was discussion around whether there was a disproportionate number of CAIS athletes at Olympic levels.

No human has ever had both testes & ovaries. It's simply not possible. For pragmatic reasons those with Swyer syndrome have an apparently female body but are classified as female even though they have XY chromosomes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XY_gonadal_dysgenesis

This is the point though and has been discussed on other threads.

Where is the boundary for CAIS and PAIS? This will be where the discussion has to go and transparency in the process is needed for people to be able to trust the process.

Do they also have ovaries, even if under developed?

Unless they have both they can't possibly be considered female can they?

If they only have testis they maybe it should come under disability events.
But its certainly not female. And female category isn't for under developed men.

I agree.

The policy will enable males with a ‘female identity’ to be excluded.

The process of determining whether those with DSDs can compete in the female category could, in my view, legitimately include some people with a Y chromosome.

People with CAIS have testes and produce make levels of testosterone but their bodies can’t process it and they don’t therefore experience the benefits of male puberty. There isn’t sporting advantage.

If the process is allowing those whose physiology has resulted in ‘male advantage’ through, it needs to be re-examined.

Here we have World Boxing's "mission statement". Where have we seen these words before? I presume, that inclusive, means allowing blokes to go into a ring and knock ten bells out of a woman and be cheered on whilst doing it. I used to love sports, but that love has turned very sour over the past eight years.

"To be a sustainable, inclusive and transparent international sports federation based on honesty, integrity and excellence that puts the interests of boxers first and ensures the sport of boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic movement."

worldboxing.org/

😡 I can't even ...where is the woman boxer's right to safety? It's not a competition, it's a woman getting assaulted by a male and in any other context he/they/whatever would be arrested

I am not criticising people who are DSD, but the process that is allowing them to compete in a contact sport against females. It's insane.

No the wording suggests the first 'screening' test is specifically for the SRY gene which indicates the presence of a y chromosome, then if they are found to have the SRY gene they will undergo other investigations and can appeal with that information.

Would the anatomical examination include the person's skeleton?

We are told that archaeologists can tell if a skeleton is male or female particularly from the pelvis. Is there a range here, where some pelvic shapes aren't clearly male or female, or will someone always have a clearly 'male' or 'female' pelvis? Does a dsd affect the body's skeletal development in shape (presumably it will have an effect eg on bone length)? It may not be so relevant in boxing, but the male pelvis gives definite advantage in athletics, etc.

That was never going to be the case though. The individuals are integral to the process. The individuals undergoing through will likely have unique outcomes that will be evaluated and discussed.

Fundamentally good, in that at least there is a process. There are always going to be edge cases. Tbh I hoped the focus here would be on the process, not the individuals any more.

I am rather concerned that WB’s policy has been successfully challenged to allow this male boxer to compete.

I think that ‘androgenisation’ is going to need to be better determined if boxers such as Lin are being allowed to compete. That includes greater transparency into the how that is determined. What tests? What has been used as the baseline? Etc

One organisation found him to have the benefit of androgenisation (IBA) and WB initially did but successfully challenged the finding. This is inconsistent.

If Yu Ting is the forerunner for contesting these DSD policies, I suspect that studies into the physical advantages for those athletes with CAIS will start being done with the view of determining a tighter policy in the future. I suspected this would be coming later rather than sooner, however, it was always a discussion that had to be had eventually.

From Emma Hilton on X

'Lot of stuff around males in female boxing right now. Rest assured, we are on it.'

🧐

The question is really about whether the dsd means there is an unfair advantage or not. If they had applied this from the start I'd be more trusting of their classification now.

I suspect that the appeal focused on this part of the WB policy.

”Where Y chromosome genetic material (i.e. SRY gene) is detected
with suspicion of chromosomal abnormalities or an undetected
difference of sexual development (DSD), a boxer’s initial screens
will be immediately referred to clinical specialists for genetic
screening, hormonal profiles, anatomical examination, or other
evaluation of endocrine profiles or markers by medical specialists
to secure a diagnosis.”

https://worldboxing.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/World-Boxing-Sex-Eligibility-Policy_FINAL_20Aug25.pdf

Lin Yu-ting presumably has a disorder of sexual development but one with either partial or complete androgen insensitivity. People with CAIS are usually regarded as female, PAIS not. If Lin Yu-ting has a penis he cant have one of the dads which leads to people with an sry gene being regarded as female.

From the BBC article:

The test is used to detect a specific gene which World Boxing said "reveals the presence of the Y chromosome that is an indicator of male biological sex".

World Boxing's policy includes an appeal process so boxers that screen positive for the SRY gene can lodge an appeal and provide supporting evidence.

Does this imply that there have been two different tests? That these athletes might lack a Y chromosome but have an SRY gene?

Is this part of the issue of Boxing having 2 international bodies at amateur level instead of 1.
IBA and WB?

Plus 4 professional Boxing bodies?
WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO.

One step forward, two steps back. No one wants women to win.