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Boxer Cindy Ngamba said she is “a human being like any other refugee” as she made history by securing the first Olympic medal for the Refugee Olympic Team.
The 25-year-old reached the women’s 75kg semifinals on Sunday by defeating sixth-seeded Davina Michel of France by unanimous decision.
With both semifinal losers taking bronze, the Cameroon-born competitor is guaranteed a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Ngamba moved to the UK when he was 10, but was unable to represent the British national team because he did not have a British passport.
“Being the first refugee ever to win a medal means a lot to me,” she said. “I am just a human being, like other refugees and athletes around the world.”
The Refugee Olympic Team first competed in Rio in 2016, but before these Games the team’s best results were two fifth-place finishes in Tokyo, with Hamoon Derafshipour finishing fifth in karate and Kimia Alizadeh fifth in taekwondo.
Ngamba, who was the team’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony in Paris, will face Panama’s Asene Byron on Thursday.
She added: “Hopefully, in the next presidential election, I’ll get this done as well. No, not hopefully. I will get it done.”
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