Ngamba, women’s 75kg class bronze medal Born in Cameroon, moved to England at age 11, “Sports taught me about life”, victory speech.
On the 4th (local time), during the quarterfinals of the women’s 75kg boxing class at the Paris Olympics in France, Cindy Ngamba (right), a member of the ‘Refugee Olympic Team’, throws a punch at Davina Michel of France. Ngamba defeated Michel and advanced to the semifinals, becoming the first ever medalist for the refugee team.
“Sports teaches you about life.”
Cindy Ngamba (26), the first medalist for the Refugee Team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, told Le Monde after winning the quarterfinals of the women’s 75kg boxing event held at the North Paris Arena in Paris, France on the 4th (local time). Ngamba, who won a 5-0 unanimous decision over France’s Davina Michel and advanced to the semifinals, has already secured a bronze medal. Olympic boxing does not hold a separate bronze medal match, but rather awards a bronze medal to the loser in the semifinals. Ngamba will compete in the semifinals on the 8th.
Ngamba said, “People live with many problems and obstacles, and there are times when they don’t believe in themselves and feel like it’s the end of the world,” and “The fact that I’m here at the Paris Olympics shows that (if you overcome hardships) there is hope in life.”
Born in Cameroon, Ngamba came to the UK when he was 11, but lost his immigration documents and was sent to a refugee camp. He is a sexual minority, and homosexuality is illegal in Cameroon, so he cannot return home. Even after living in the UK for 15 years, he is still trying to obtain a visa and British citizenship.
After entering the UK, Ngamba had to go to school without knowing English due to difficult family circumstances. He was bullied because he was overweight and had a strong body odor. However, two physical education teachers took care of him and guided him on the path of boxing. Recalling his difficult past, Ngamba said, “It’s all in the past now, and my presence in Paris has taught me a lot.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) formed a refugee team for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics to allow athletes who left their home countries due to unavoidable reasons such as civil war, war, and discrimination to compete on the Olympic stage. This Olympics will feature 37 athletes in 12 sports. Ahead of the Paris Olympics, the British Boxing Association tried to get Ngamba to join the British team in the Olympics by requesting citizenship from the government, but failed. In the end, she went to the Olympics as the first female boxer to represent the IOC Refugee Team, and won a bronze medal. 바카라게임