Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting said she considered retiring after winning gold at the Paris Olympics but wanted to carry on fighting in part to defy those who questioned her eligibility.
Lin and Imane Khelif of Algeria found themselves in the middle of a major gender row at the 2024 Games, with Donald Trump, Elon Musk and author J.K. Rowling among those wading in.
The two boxers had been disqualified from the 2023 world championships by the International Boxing Association (IBA) after the organisation said they failed unspecified gender eligibility tests.
However, the IOC allowed them to compete in Paris, saying they were victims of "a sudden and arbitrary decision" by the widely discredited IBA. Both went on to win gold.
Hailed as a hero in Taiwan, Lin wondered at the time whether it was the right moment to bow out of the sport she loves.
"I achieved everything I had worked for. It seemed like a good moment to make a graceful exit," the 30-year-old told AFP in a rare interview.
Initially the choice was taken out of her hands and her career forced on hold.
Then in March this year World Boxing – which has taken over the running of the sport – cleared her to return after 19 months in limbo following a one-off sex test.
Lin, a two-time world champion who will compete at the Asian Games in Japan starting on 19 September, said quitting would have let down the people close to her.
"I couldn't leave the people on my team behind," Lin said.
"And I also wanted to see how far my own abilities could go."
Lin is keen to put the darker moments of Paris and its aftermath behind her.
Dwelling on negatives will get her trapped in a "pessimistic mindset", she said.
"I'm able to continue competing now," Lin added.
"In a way that's a rebuttal to many of the things people were saying before."
'FALLING INTO PLACE'
Lin has stepped up a weight class as she pursues a second Asian Games gold in a row.
She won last time at 57kg, the same weight as her Paris triumph, but will box in the 60kg category in Nagoya-Aichi this month.
"Right now I feel like things are gradually falling into place for me," she said.
"This year I started competing again and I've gradually regained my reactions and form. It really does feel like I'm getting back into my rhythm."
On her return to international competition Lin won bronze at 60kg at the Asian Elite Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, then silver at the World Boxing Cup in China.
"Moving up a weight class means everything is new for me," Lin said.
"It's a new goal, a new challenge and a new milestone."
'CLARITY AND DETERMINATION'
Lin was 13 when she first pulled on a pair of boxing gloves at her junior high school gym in Yingge district near Taipei.
She was "a small-stature student without an obvious physical edge", said her coach Tseng Tzu-chiang, who has been her trainer ever since.
Lin worked hard and captured a string of titles including world crowns in 2018 and 2022.
"Once she set her eyes on something, she would commit to it wholeheartedly," Tseng told AFP.
She meets setbacks head-on, resetting her goals and achieving them with "absolute clarity and determination", he said.
Lin admits to "very high standards" and a "rigorous attitude" towards training.
But there is a fun side too, unwinding from the physically taxing sessions with Tseng by playing Pokemon Go.
She dabbles in the stock market.
"I manage risk very strictly," Lin said, likening trading stocks to throwing punches.
"The best risk management in the ring is making sure I've done my own part well. That's something I can control."
PRIZED POSSESSION
Winning Paris gold was the culmination of years of devotion.
She failed to secure a spot at the 2016 Rio Games and was eliminated in the early stages in Tokyo in 2021.
Two years after her Paris win, Lin's gold medal remains carefully wrapped and stored in her bedroom, rarely making public appearances.
"I haven't displayed it yet because I haven't found a good way," Lin said, adding she might one day show it alongside her other medals.
"I'm worried about damaging it, getting it dirty, or accidentally scratching it."