Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting wins Asian Games 60kg boxing gold, beating China's Yang Chengyu 5-0

Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting won gold in the women's 60kg boxing final at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan on Friday. She beat China's Yang Chengyu 5-0 at the Nishio Gymnasium, according to Al Jazeera and The Hindu.

Lin is 30 years old. This is her second Asian Games gold medal. She won the first in the 57kg class in Hangzhou, China, three years earlier.

In 2023, the International Boxing Association (IBA) disqualified Lin and Algeria's Imane Khelif from the world championships. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) later allowed both boxers to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where both won gold. According to The Hindu, Donald Trump, Elon Musk and author J.K. Rowling were among those who commented publicly on the 2024 dispute.

After the final

According to The Hindu, Lin said the win's "significance is monumental" and that it felt different from her Olympic victory. The Hindu quoted her as saying: "It was really not easy at all." She added: "It's rare to finally reach that point where you see the dawn, and I'm just so grateful to myself for making it through."

Lin said she moved up a weight class to challenge herself. "Since I already had a really solid track record at 57kg, I also wanted to give myself a different challenge and see just how far I could go," The Hindu quoted her as saying. She would not confirm whether she plans to defend her Olympic title at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, according to the same report.

Before the Games, Lin told AFP that she had considered retiring after the Paris Olympics. She said she wanted to keep fighting partly to defy those who questioned her eligibility. Al Jazeera, The Hindu and The Japan Times carried these comments. Al Jazeera and The Hindu credit them to AFP.

Also according to The Hindu, China's Wu Yu defended her women's 51kg title, beating Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Tam 5-0. Japan's Rui Yamaguchi won the men's 55kg gold, beating the Philippines' Carlo Paalam by a 3-2 split decision.

What is disputed

The reports describe the location differently. Al Jazeera places the final in Nishio, southeast of Nagoya. The Hindu says it took place "in Nagoya" but names the same venue, the Nishio Gymnasium. The difference may reflect a regional label rather than a factual conflict.

What each side says

• IBA: Lin and Khelif failed unspecified gender eligibility tests. This was the basis for their 2023 disqualification.
• IOC: Al Jazeera quoted the IOC as describing the boxers as victims of "a sudden and arbitrary decision" by the IBA.
• Lin Yu-ting: She told AFP she continued boxing partly to defy those who questioned her eligibility.

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include an official result sheet from the organizers or any comment from Yang Chengyu or the Chinese team. They do not describe which eligibility rules, if any, applied at these Games, or the nature of the IBA's 2023 tests. Al Jazeera and The Hindu credit only Lin's pre-Games comments to AFP; the reports do not state the origin of the rest of their coverage, though the two accounts share closely matching passages.

Analysis

The result adds a second Asian Games title to Lin's Olympic gold, now in a heavier division. Her future remains open: she did not confirm plans for Los Angeles 2028, so continued competition and retirement both remain possible. The eligibility debate is not resolved in the reports reviewed. They describe the IBA's and the IOC's opposing positions from 2023 and 2024 but do not say whether either body has since changed its stance, and they do not explain what rules applied in Japan. How governing bodies define and test eligibility could shape future events. Because the accounts closely overlap and no official result sheet was included, further independent confirmation would strengthen the record.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.