J.K. Rowling helped Chinese Taipei boxer Lin Yu-ting win gold says coach, calls IBA ‘lunatics’

In the centre of a gender row since the start of the early rounds of boxing events at the North Paris Arena, Lin produced four straight unanimous decision wins to claim the first Olympics boxing gold medal for the self-ruled island.

The southpaw from New Taipei City couldn’t hold back her tears on the podium when the Chinese Taipei flag was raised and anthem played at Roland Garros.

Lin Yu-ting managed to maintain her composure in the ring after winning her women’s boxing 57kg final bout against Julia Szeremeta of Poland on Saturday, but she lost it entirely when the gold medal was slipped over her head.

“I was emotional, there were mixed feelings, I felt it all,” she said. “Those scenes I had been through over the years flashed across my mind.

“The memories of me being knocked down, the unwanted noises, the moment I decided to grit my teeth and hold on, the willpower, the process of fighting with oneself, and to the ultimate victory.”

Supporters of boxer Lin Yu-ting at a watch party in Taipei as she battles for a gold medal. Photo: Reuters

Lin, 28, also said coach Tseng Tzu-chiang had asked her if she could imagine walking into the ring at an Olympics when they were competing at an event in Beijing – her first fight overseas.

“He asked if I would be scared or could bear those applause,” she said. “Now I could answer ‘yes’ to all those questions … I could proudly say ‘I can do it’ and so all Taiwanese could do it.

“Every victory in Paris was important, I kept my promises, I finished my target, my dream and I completed my grand slam.”

Standing at 1.75m, Lin made the most of her height advantage, while often keeping them at arm’s length.

Having triumphed at the Asian Championships, the World Championships, the Asian Games and now the Olympics, Lin, who boasts a 46-14 career record, has completed her collection of gold medals, and Tseng did not hesitate in hitting back at those who criticised his pupil publicly.

He said there had been no point attacking the International Boxing Association, which he compared to “a lunatic”, because they were already suspended by the International Olympic Committee.

“What’s the point of suing a lunatic after he hit you, we might as well just stay away from him,” the coach said, adding that J.K. Rowling had helped Lin with her comments.

He called the Harry Potter author the “pride of Taiwan and the key to our gold medal”.

“Her comments created unlimited volume on social media so that the entire world got to know about Lin,” he said.

In a post on social media platform X, on July 30, Rowling tweeted a story from The Guardian, about Li and Algerian Imane Khelif, with the comment: “What will it take to end this insanity? A female boxer left with life-altering injuries? A female boxer killed?”

The allegations surrounding Lin and Khelif continued after they won gold, with tennis great Martina Navratilova calling them men in a post on X.

“This is what happens when you let males compete against females,” former tennis great Navratilova wrote. “And in boxing in particular – you don’t need any technique, really – because your punch is so much harder than anything coming at you. Despicable. And dangerous.”

Her post attracted almost 290k views in little more than seven hours and the 18-time grand slam winner even took time to reply to those comments.

On Saturday, Khelif’s lawyer Nabil Boudi said the Algerian boxer had filed a formal legal complaint citing online harassment.

Asked if she would take similar measures, Lin said: “This is something I will discuss with my team. We will decide later what the next step will be.”

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