PARIS — The Refugee Olympic Team waited eight years for its first Olympic medal before boxer Cindy Winner Djankeu Ngamba guaranteed at least a bronze earlier this week.
That medal has now been awarded as Ngamba lost in her women’s 75kg semifinal.
The Refugee Team was created for the Rio 2016 Games and has competed ever since, at the 2020 Tokyo Games and now Paris. However, despite being close to a medal, they have been made to wait — until now.
Ngamba stepped into the ring at Roland Garros for the biggest fight of her life against Panama’s Atheyna Bibeichi Bylon on Thursday. It ended in a split-decision defeat, meaning Ngamba will share the bronze medal with Australia’s Caitlin Parker, who lost the other semifinal.
Ngamba, 25, came through a tough draw that saw her have to beat No. 3 seed Tammara Thibeault of Canada and No. 6 seed Davina Michel of France — the latter via unanimous decision. Her bout against Bylon was even more difficult.
Bylon comfortably won the first round on the judges’ scorecards, notably with a strong punch toward the end of the round, but Ngamba roared back in the second, setting up an all-deciding final round.
Bylon was deducted a point by Bulgarian referee Pavel Pavlov for continued holding. However, the Panamanian was adjudged to be the victor as she used her superior size to keep the refugee boxer out of range. She will face China’s Li Qian in the final on Saturday.
Ngamba, who was born in Cameroon, is gay and cannot return to her home country, where homosexuality is outlawed. She currently lives in Bolton, England.