| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National team | Refugee Olympic Team | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 September 1998 Douala, Cameroon | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | Middleweight | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Boxing | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Bolton | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Cindy Winner Djankeu Ngamba (born 7 September 1998) [1] is a Cameroonian boxer who competed for the EOC Refugee Team at the 2023 European Games. She is the first-ever medalist for the Refugee Olympic Team, having won bronze in women's 75 kg boxing at the 2024 Summer Olympics. [2] [3] [4]
Ngamba was born in Cameroon. [5] At the age of 11, Ngamba moved to the United Kingdom. [5] Her uncle lost Ngamba's immigration paperwork when he moved back to Cameroon. [6] Ngamba has since gained a BA (Hons) degree in Crime and Criminal Justice at the University of Bolton. [7]
In 2019, [6] Ngamba and her brother were detained whilst attending an immigration office in Bolton and sent to a detention centre in London. [7] [8] They were released the following day. [7] Aged 18, Ngamba came out as lesbian; as such, she is unable to return to Cameroon without risk of imprisonment, as homosexuality is illegal there. [5]
Ngamba trained with GB Boxing, although she could not compete for Great Britain as she does not have a British passport. [5] She has won British National Amateur Championships in three different weight categories, making her the first woman to achieve the feat since Natasha Jonas. [7] [5] In 2023, Ngamba won a Bocskai event in Hungary, [8] and competed in the under 75kg event [9] for the EOC Refugee Team at the 2023 European Games. [5]
She competed for the Refugee Olympic Team in the 2024 World Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament 1 [7] and qualified for the Summer Olympics in Paris, alongside her British colleague Chantelle Reid. [10] On 2 May 2024, Ngamba was officially named in the Refugee Olympic Team making her the first boxer to be selected for the team. [11] She was also chosen as one of the Refugee Olympic Team flag-bearers for the opening ceremony alongside Syrian Taekwondo athlete Yahya Al-Ghotany. [12] [13]
Ngamba was drawn to fight 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships gold medalist Tammara Thibeault from Canada in the first round [14] [15] and won by 3:2 split decision. [16] [17] She defeated 2022 World Championship bronze medalist Davina Michel of France via unanimous decision in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics to guarantee herself at least a bronze medal and in the process becoming the first person to win an Olympic medal for the Refugee Olympic Team. [18] [19] [20] She fought Atheyna Bylon from Panama in the semi-finals and lost by 4:1 split decision, therefore taking a bronze medal. [3] [4]
Ngamba turned professional and signed a multi-fight contract with promotors Boxxer in January 2025. [21] She is scheduled to make her pro-debut against Kirstie Bavington at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 7 March 2025. [22]
