During a dramatic moment at the National Games, Lin Yu-ting, a renowned Taiwanese boxer, grinned as her opponent abandoned their match mid-fight. The incident took place on Tuesday night and has since sparked widespread discussion.

Lin swiftly dispatched her opponent, a 19-year-old university student named Wu Peiyi, with a knockout in just 94 seconds. The bout was notably one-sided, leaving Wu reeling from Lin’s dominant performance in the opening round.

Despite suffering two knockdowns at the hands of Lin, Wu returned for the second round, determined to continue the fight. She launched a series of punches but then abruptly stepped back, signaling her team to end the match by throwing in the towel.

Initially taken aback by Wu’s unexpected exit, Lin soon recognized the gesture as a form of protest from her opponent. The dramatic turn of events has added a layer of controversy to the ongoing competition.

Wu powered forward to land a barrage of punches before stepping back and walking away, with the towel thrown in from her team, evidently under instruction from the fighter. 

Lin was momentarily confused but then seemed to realised the rival fighter had quit as an act of protest. 

Olympic gender-row boxer Lin Yu-ting smirked when Wu Peiyi walked away mid-fight

The 29-year-old victor then smirked in Wu’s direction before heading back to the corner and was announced as winner. The Olympic gold medal winner from Paris went on to claim victory in the 60kg competition, a first title since those Games. 

‘It was good. We just did the preparations we were supposed to do,’ her coach Tseng Tzu-chiang said, confirming it was Lin’s first official event since Paris. 

Prior to Tuesday, the Taiwanese boxer had not returned to the ring at international events after the Olympic success which sparked a huge gender row over disputed sex tests.

World Boxing introduced mandatory genetic sex testing for all boxers aged over 18 in August, in an effort to better determine eligibility for its competitions.

The decision has seen Lin and fellow gender row boxer Imane Khelif, who also won gold at the Paris Games in the welterweight category, undergo extended periods away from the ring.

Rules for entry into the National Games in Taiwan are different and did not require Lin to undergo gender testing, a loophole that allowed her to compete. 

According to reports in Taiwan, Lin knocked out 19-year-old first-round opponent Pan Yan-fei just 94 seconds into their bout earlier in the week after she was ‘subjected to several head shots and appeared short of breath’.

The result was recorded as ‘abandoned’ after Pan’s coach threw in the towel, prompting the referee to stop the fight.

Lin has been at the centre of a huge gender boxing row since her gold medal at the Paris Games

Lin, 29, knocked out 19-year-old female university student Pan Yan-fei (above) in 94 seconds earlier in the National Games competition she went on to win 

Pan, a youth-level boxer representing National Taipei University of Technology Affiliated Taoyuan Agricultural & Industrial Senior High School, was making her first appearance at a senior event after previously competing in Taiwan’s U22 category. She also won a national high-school title in 2023. 

Her medical condition was described as stable after the 94-second knockout defeat, while no medical statement was issued after the fight. 

After the match, Lin’s coach Tseng Tzu-chiang described the bout as ‘routine’ and chose not to comment on regulatory matters. 

Meanwhile, Lin also batted away questions about gender eligibility and said that she is ‘still adjusting to the 60-kilogram weight class’.

While Lin takes advantage of domestic rules in Taiwan, Khelif is seeking legal action against World Boxing’s rules, which ban her from competing unless she can prove she is biologically female.

Lin pictured beating Julia Szeremeta en route to her gold-medal triumph at the 2024 Olympics

The Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed Khelif had lodged an appeal against mandatory sex tests on August 5.

Both Lin and Khelif, who plan to defend their gold medals at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, missed the world championships in Liverpool last month — the first event staged by World Boxing since it replaced the International Boxing Association earlier this year.

By triumphing at the Taiwan National Games, an event known officially as the National Games of the Republic of China and held every two years, Lin earned a seventh successive title in women’s boxing.