"She’s not just fighting for a medal, she's fighting for her life": The story of Cindy Ngamba, from the people who know her best

You can smell and hear the Elite Boxing Gym in Bolton well before you enter it. From the bottom floor of the Halliwell mill you can hear the rhythmic sound of mitts smacking leather and the scent of worn gloves and hard-earned sweat.

These are the sensations that became familiar to Cindy Ngamba years before she made history at the Paris Olympics. The 25-year-old became the first person ever to secure a medal for the IOC’s refugee team after her win against France’s Davina Michel booked her a place in tonight's women's middleweight semi-finals. (August 8)

Despite growing up in the UK, Cindy, from Bolton, has not been granted citizenship and is unable to represent Team GB.

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Her status is currently that of an asylum seeker as she is unable to return to her native Cameroon after coming out as a gay when she was 18-years-old. So, Cindy has been representing the Refugee Olympic Team, for which she was the flagbearer during the opening ceremony.

However, despite an extraordinary story that is primed for Hollywood, the people who really know her, see the three-time English national champion as simply a quiet, humble and kind young woman with an exceptional talent.

Tom McNeill, 35, is a coach at Elite Boxing Gym, he met Cindy around three years ago when she joined the centre after training for a short while at the Bolton Lads and Girls Club.

Speaking of his fondest memory of Cindy, he said: “She used to come in on a Saturday, she was heavier back then. She picked up boxing to lose a bit of weight.

“She sparred with one of our lads. He was an amateur but he’s just turned pro recently. We said she could do a few rounds with him and