Boxer Cindy Ngamba claimed the first medal for the Olympic Refugee Team at the North Paris Arena on Sunday, beating France’s Davina Michel in the women’s 75kg quarter-finals to earn bronze.
There is no bronze medal match in boxing at the Olympics, so Ngamba will either win or lose a medal in the semifinals. She will fight Panama’s Atheina Vibeich Baylon on Thursday when boxing moves to Roland Garros.
“I’m so happy to be the first refugee team member to win a medal,” Ngamba said. “I’m just a human being like any other refugee. There are refugees all over the world.”
Ngamba, 25, was born in Cameroon and moved to the UK when he was 11. Ngamba, who is gay, cannot return home because homosexuality is illegal in Cameroon. She now lives in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, and trains with UK Boxing.
She won against boxer Davina Michelle (FRA). @CindyEungba (EOR) made history by securing the IOC its first Olympic medal. @RefugeeOlympic team! #Paris2024 #Olympic Games pic.twitter.com/lmN0fhdqA5
— IOC Media (@iocmedia) August 4, 2024
Ngamba served as flag bearer alongside taekwondo athlete Yahya Al Ghotani at the opening ceremony of the Refugee Team, which was founded in 2015 and made its debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
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Refugee boxer Cindy Ngamba wins Olympic medal – ‘She’s an inspiration to us all’
Ngamba is part of a 37-athlete refugee team in Paris after being referred to the International Olympic Committee’s refugee program during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has won three national titles in different weight classes and was denied British citizenship despite receiving support from the sport’s governing body, GB Boxing, in her application to the UK Home Office.
“I want to tell refugees, not just all the refugees and athletes around the world, but mainly the human beings around the world, to keep working hard and believe in yourself,” Ngamba said. “You can achieve anything you put your mind to.”
China’s Chen Li and Australia’s Kaitlyn Parker will face off in the other semi-final.
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(Photo: Richard Pelham / Getty Images)
