Remarkable refugee trailblazer Cindy Ngamba hopes her emotional Olympic debut can inspire millions of others battling similar levels of adversity across the world.
The Cameroonian-born boxer, who is representing the Refugee Olympic Team having been based in the UK since the age of 11, pulled off a stunning result to beat 2022 world welterweight champion Tammara Thibeault at a rocking North Paris Arena.
Ngamba, 25, fled her home country to pursue a ‘better life’ but has encountered obstacle after obstacle since arriving in the UK.
The three-weight national champion, who is out as LGBTQ+, has fought continually to gain British citizenship while it remains unsafe to return to Cameroon, a nation where it is still illegal to be gay and human rights groups have documented the rising persecution of LGBTQ+ people in the country.
But despite those fears, at the age of 17, Ngamba was surrounded by law enforcement at one of her regular appointments at an immigration office before being taken to a detention centre in London where the authorities sought to deport her.
This did not materialise owing to the political and cultural Cameroonian climate and in the eight years that followed, Ngamba – who is based and trains with the GB Boxing setup in Sheffield – has astonishingly navigated her way to the bright Olympic lights.
She is one of 37 athletes from 11 countries representing the Refugee Olympic Team in Paris, a concept introduced ahead of Rio 2016 in light of the global crisis and one Ngamba had the privilege of carrying the flag for at Friday’s opening ceremony.
Five days later, she outboxed, outfoxed and outthought rangy Canadian Thibeault and now harbours genuine hopes of becoming the first Refugee Team athlete to win an Olympic medal.
And she was roared on by a raucous refugee-supporting contingent congregated in a corner of the North Paris Arena, whose banner displaying the words ‘for the 100 million’ perfectly encapsulated Ngamba’s inspirational message to every refugee across all corners of the world.
Speaking in a jam-packed mixed zone after her fight on Wednesday, she said: “Me being here means the world to me – and I hope that it means the same to all the others around the world.
“For people that are going through so many issues and obstacles, they can believe in themselves and feel like it’s not the end of the world.
“I hope that them watching me and they can see that anything in life that you go through, you’re able to overcome it.
“I’ve got through so many obstacles in life, just like so many other refugees around the world.
“All of us who are in the Olympics competing don’t let obstacles or pressure get in the way of them – I train and fight hard for it, visualise any situation that can happen and I am prepared for it because I have seen the hardship in life.
“I am one of millions of refuges around the world, billions of humans and I hope tom give them motivation too.”
Ngamba’s story looked to be a rare ray of light for British-based boxers after Chantelle Reid became the fifth fighter out of five to lose their opening bout.
Reid, who did not step in a competitive ring for six years because of an injury aged 17, lost her 75kg contest against reigning world champion Khadija Mardi on Wednesday afternoon.
But in the evening, Essex light middleweight Lewis Richardson injected some much-needed life into Team GB’s campaign with a brilliant win over wily Serb Vakhid Abbasov.
Richardson, 27, was visibly fired up in front of vocal friends and family in attendance as he salvaged a glimmer of hope for Britain’s boxers and booked his place in the quarter-finals.
And it’s fair to say he’s buoyant about his chances of winning what would be a remarkable gold medal.
Richardson, who won European silver in Yerevan in 2022, said: “I can go all the way.
“Lewis Richardson can win Olympic gold in the light middleweight division.
“I’m massive at the weight, strong at the weight, I’m fit and more importantly than anything, I’m in a mentally great place right now.
“I’m really happy to get the win – I’m really positive, happy and proud. There’s a lot of emotions and I’m in a very positive headspace
“It's big – there’s no denying we’ve lost some very close decisions. It hasn’t gone our way but I can change that and more than capable of doing that.
“I’m now that person to carry the flag, ready to do what it takes to become an Olympic medallist.”
Watch every moment of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live only on discovery+, the streaming home of the Olympics.
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