Paris 2024: Cindy Ngamba makes history as first refugee to secure Olympic medal, reaches boxing semi-finals
Cindy Winner Djankeu Ngamba. Her name will forever feature in the Olympic record books.
On Sunday, Ngamba beat French hope Davina Michel on points by a unanimous decision to reach the 75kg boxing semi-finals, becoming the first ever athlete from the Refugee Olympic Team to secure an Olympic medal.
"This means the world to me. I hope I can change the colour of my medal in the next fight," Ngamba said. "I want to tell the refugees around the world, keep on working hard, keep on pushing yourself and you can accomplish anything."
Ngamba is set to fight Panama's Atheyna Bylon on Thursday for a place in the gold medal match.
But even if she loses that next bout, Ngamba has already made history, guaranteed a bronze for her heroic efforts at the North Paris Arena.
Cameroon-born and UK-based Ngamba, who was one of the two flagbearers for the Refugee Olympic Team at the Opening Ceremony, has been heavily supported at the Olympics, but faced a divided crowd given sixth seed Michel was aiming for glory on home soil.
Ngamba won by a 3-2 split decision win over Canada’s Tammara Thibeault on Wednesday, and this time donning red she made an aggressive start against Michel with her refugee teammates watching and cheering on.
Michel needed the ropes to stay up inside two minutes as Ngamba impressed in the opening round, winning it 10-9 on three of the five scorecards.
Having edged ahead, Ngamba stepped up a gear and powered her way to a win on all five scorecards in the second round.
During the break over in the red corner, Ngamba was told to fight smart with the bout virtually won, but still she finished with a flourish, securing 10s across the board again to reach the last four in style.
"I was fighting a very tough opponent today but I listened to myself. I stuck to my tactics and I got the job done," said Ngamba.
And after her victory was announced, she grabbed a board which donned the name of the Refugee Olympic Team, pointing at it and letting the world know what she has just achieved, not only for herself, but the team she represents.