Olympic boxer who won refugee team's first-ever medal turns pro after UK citizenship rejection
Cindy Ngamba was the first-ever member of the Olympic refugee team to win a medal - bronze at Paris 2024 summer games.
Thursday 6 March 2025 02:53, UK
Even for a boxer, Cindy Ngamba has had to fight more than most.
And she's still fighting beyond the ring ahead of another career landmark.
The 26-year-old was the first-ever member of the Olympic refugee team to win a medal - bronze at Paris 2024 - and has been preparing for her professional debut.
"I've had a very, very, very hard journey," Ngamba told Sky News.
She had been aiming to fight in the grandest of London venues - the Royal Albert Hall - in a super welterweight bout against Kirstie Bavington on an all-female card on Friday, but has since pulled out.
"I'm one of 100 million refugees out there, all around the world," Ngamba said in a south London boxing club. "So I'll be the first ever refugee turning pro. And I'm sure many, many more will come.
"And I hope that all the refugees out there can just look at me and see what I'm achieving, and hopefully that can kind of give them motivation."
Even though she was celebrated by King Charles during a post-Olympics reception, Ngamba was unable to compete for Team GB as she has not been granted British citizenship.
That is despite now being in Britain for 15 years, since leaving Cameroon aged 11.
"GB Boxing have tried their best," she said. "I've seen them trying their best to get my papers fixed sooner before the 2024 Olympics. And there was no way to fix it earlier before the Olympics."
'I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy'
She has not just been thwarted in her bid for citizenship, but there was a fear of being deported after attending an immigration office in 2019.
"In that moment, I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy," she said. "Being taken to a detention camp, speaking to all the females down there that were telling me they had been there for years, months and days.
"And some of them didn't even know when they were going to be released. And you go in there thinking, that's going to be you, and you're wondering, is that going to be me? Am I going to be staying there that long?
"You can't speak to no one. You can't hear from your family telling you everything's going to be okay. Everything's going to be fine. That's what kept me going during the build-up to the Olympics. I think it only made me stronger."
Representing the LGBTQ+ community
Refugee status was granted over fears of being imprisoned for being gay if she returned to Cameroon - an issue she did not want to directly discuss in this interview.
"I feel like I'm representing the LGBTQ+ community," she said. "The young generation, the future generation out there that will kind of look at me as a role model."
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That's why she is still taking a stand against Saudi Arabia, the nation investing so much in the sport and staging the biggest fights and sponsoring Friday night's all-female card.
"I will give my opinion about it - I think it's very bad," she said. "I don't think I would want to go to Riyadh if the law has not changed on the LGBTQ+ and for females mainly."
But asked about the Saudis saying they welcome anyone and have women competing in sport, Ngamba replied: "I need proof. That's my answer."
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Her main focus now is beginning the journey to add a championship belt to a collection featuring that milestone Olympic medal.