PARIS, France (AFP) — One of the boxers at the center of a gender controversy at the Olympics comfortably reached the quarterfinals Friday, as fellow fighters and public figures weighed into the furore.

Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting beat Sitora Turdibekova from Uzbekistan on a unanimous points decision in the women’s 57-kilogram class in her opening bout in Paris.

The 28-year-old Lin is embroiled in a political punch-up over her eligibility, along with fellow boxer Imane Khelif, after the Algerian beat her Italian opponent in just 46 seconds on Thursday.

Khelif and Lin both fought at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics without controversy.

They were then disqualified from the 2023 world championships in New Delhi, run by the International Boxing Association (IBA), after failing to meet “eligibility criteria.”

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has cleared the boxers to compete in the French capital, igniting a firestorm.

The IOC stripped the IBA of responsibility for organizing the Paris Games boxing over financial, ethical and governance issues.

Lin beat Turdibekova with finesse rather than power, using her reach to score with jabs and sidestepping the Uzbek’s attempts to make the fight a close quarters brawl.

After the victory she avoided talking to the media, although her coach Tseng Tzu-chiang paused briefly.

“This is how the sport is. We respect the ruling and all the rules,” he said, adding that Lin “was a little nervous in her first bout. Anyway, we just enjoyed the contest.”

Meanwhile, Angela Carini, the Italian boxer left bruised, beaten and tearful by Khelif, told Italian media on Friday that she felt sorry for the Algerian.

“All the controversy made me sad and I’m sorry for my opponent too. It’s nothing to do with her. She was here like me to fight,” Carini told the La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Carini ignored Khelif’s attempt to shake her hand at the end of the one-sided bout at 66kg, but told the publication: “It wasn’t on purpose, and I apologize to her and everyone.”

“I was angry because my Olympics had just gone up in smoke but I’ve nothing against Imane Khelif. On the contrary, if I saw her again, I’d give her a hug.”

Hungarian boxer Anna Luca Hamori faces Khelif on Saturday and having initially taken a conciliatory tone, she wrote in a Facebook post Friday: “In my humble opinion I don’t think it’s fair that this contestant can compete in the women’s category.”

But Tunisian coach Samir Khlifi, speaking after his boxer Khouloud Hlimi lost in a bout in Lin’s class, called the IBA decision to disqualify Khelif last year “political.”

“I’ve known that boxer for a long time,” he said of the Algerian.

“I knew her when she was a girl and now there is a question mark.”

“The International Olympic Committee did her justice and allowed her to participate.”