Bolton refugee boxer hopeful she can inspire millions with Olympic performance

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