Cindy Ngamba Wins Historic Bronze for Refugee Olympic Team

Cindy Ngamba, competing for the Refugee Olympic Team, made history at Paris 2024 by winning the team’s first-ever Olympic boxing medal. Despite losing her semi-final match to Panama’s Atheyna Bylon, Ngamba, 25, secured a bronze medal in the 75kg category. The bout ended with a controversial 4-1 decision favoring Bylon, who received a penalty for excessive holding but still won according to the majority of judges.

Ngamba, who trains with the GB squad in Sheffield, visibly expressed frustration with the result. Observers, including BBC boxing expert Steve Bunce, criticized the judges’ decision. Bunce noted that Bylon’s performance seemed negative and expressed surprise at the outcome given Ngamba’s strong showing throughout the fight. Ngamba’s journey to Paris 2024 is remarkable.

She moved to the UK from Cameroon at age 10 and faced severe challenges due to her sexuality which is criminalized in her homeland. Authorities arrested and detained her in the UK before releasing her. Despite these hurdles, she excelled in boxing, winning a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games and earning a degree in criminology from Bolton University.

Although Cindy Ngamba is not yet a British citizen and thus could not compete as part of Team GB, she trained alongside them and had GB coaches in her corner during her fights. Her bronze medal represents the Refugee Olympic Team’s historic first medal, as the team did not win any medals in Rio 2016 or Tokyo 2020.

The Refugee team, which includes athletes like Dominic Lobalu, Eyeru Gebru and Farzad Mansouri, showcased their talents in Paris across various sports. In other boxing results from Thursday, Hasanboy Dusmatov claimed gold for Uzbekistan in the men’s 51kg category, and China’s Yuan Chang won gold in the women’s 54kg by defeating Turkey’s Hatice Akbas.