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Mike Chan

A modest, thankful and determined Lin Yu-ting said she was ready to roll up her sleeves and empty her tank ahead of her dream fight on Sunday.
Lin and Julia Szeremeta will battle it out at Roland Garros, with both gold and history on the line.
Neither Chinese Taipei nor Poland have ever won a women’s boxing title at the Olympics.
Lin, a two-time world champion, has dominated her side of the draw, and racked up her third successive 5-0 win when dispatching Esra Yildiz in the women’s 57kg semi-final.


“The feeling of entering the gold-medal match is one of gratitude to myself for making it this far, it wasn’t easy for sure,” she said. “After going out in the first round of the Tokyo Olympics, it’s been a tough journey to reach the final.
“I shall use what I had learned throughout my life in the next fight. I will try my best in the final and hope to achieve my golden dream.”

After her win, Lin revealed she had the flu and thanked her team for taking care of her.
“There was certainly some influence on my performance but I thanked the medical officials and the staff of the delegation for giving me the best help they could,” the 28-year-old said. “It soothed my conditions and allowed me to fight [against Yildiz] with minimum impact.”
Lin, who won gold at last year’s Asian Games, also paid tribute to Yildiz, who she said was someone “I admired and respected a lot,” for a “great” fight.
The feeling was not mutual, with Yildiz far from happy after her loss, making an X symbol with her index fingers as she left the ring.
Bulgarian boxer Svetlana Staneva, who lost to Lin in the quarter-finals, also made a similar gesture, which some have interpreted as a reference to XX chromosomes and hinting one who does that was born as a female.
When asked about the meaning of her posture after the fight, the 27-year-old featherweight boxer said she had “no comment”.
Lin, alongside Imane Khelif of Algeria, who fights in the 66kg category, has been at the centre of a gender row in the French capital, which has played out alongside their respective journeys to fighting for gold.

But the Philippines’ Nesthy Petecio, who lost to Szeremeta in the other 57kg semi-final, said she had “no problem” with Lin competing at the Paris Olympics.
Szeremeta, meanwhile, said she had little to fear from Lin and was confident she could beat the top seed.
“I don’t fear anyone, I just do what I have to out there,” she said. “A silver medal is not worth mentioning, my goal is the gold medal and [I am sure] the referee will raise my hand after the bout.
“I will only be happy when I am the Olympic champion.”
Having won 43 boxing medals, including eight golds, nine silvers and 26 bronzes, at the Olympics, the last gold for Poland came in 1976, when Jerzy Rybicki triumphed in the men’s light middleweight category.
“Those were good memories [for my people] but I am writing my own story here, and I am still writing it,” said Szeremeta, who will turn 21 later this month. “In fact, we never win any Olympic medal in women’s boxing, so this is going to be a great story too.
Fighting on Roland Garros’s court Philippe-Chatrier also presented special meaning to both boxers. Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek has won four grand slam titles on its hallowed surface.
“I had more fun fighting here than in the previous stages,” Szeremeta said of her semi-final. “There were more fans, great atmosphere with the cameras, lights and music. It’s very nice here for sure, and I can’t wait for the final.”
Lin said it had been “unbelievable” to share the same court with all those tennis giants.
“It’s the sacred arena, it’s dreamy,” the featherweight from New Taipei City said. “It’s my honour to play here and walking into the players’ lounge gave me that ‘wow’ feeling.
“That was what it feels like to be a star; I am a sports fan and I paid attention to all sports, so I was able to recognise the stars [from those photos hanging on the wall] immediately.”
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Sport

Boxing

Paris Olympics 2024

Asia

Chinese Taipei boxer will fight Poland’s Julia Szeremeta on Sunday with both gold and history on the line


Chinese Taipei boxer will fight Poland’s Julia Szeremeta on Sunday with both gold and history on the line.


Tokyo