Paris Olympics: Cindy Ngamba's boxing bronze a victory for 120 million refugees
Aug 09, 2024
Paris [France], August 9 : IOC Refugee Olympic Team athlete Cindy Winner Djankeu Ngamba and Australia's Caitlin Parker have earned bronze medals in women's 75kg boxing on Thursday, 8 August at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Ngamba's bronze medal marks a historic first Olympic medal for the Refugee Olympic Team since the team was formed in 2016. Ngamba took a round and one of the five judges' overall cards, but ultimately it was not enough for the boxer to make it into the gold-medal final with the match finishing in a 4-1 split-decision defeat to Panama's Atheyna Bibeichi Bylon.
Parker made history for Australia, earning her nation's first medal in women's boxing. She finished with bronze after a unanimous 5-0 defeat to the People's Republic of China Li Qian.
"The game plan didn't go as I wanted, but I'm proud of myself for making history for Australian boxing," said Parker as quoted by Olympics.com.
"I didn't make the Rio Olympics. I went to Tokyo. I've got a bronze here and I'm coming back for more. Dreams do come true and I'll make them come true for the next one," the two-time Olympian added.
Li and Bylon will meet in the gold-medal match on Saturday, as per the Olympics.com.
Later in the day, India's Neeraj Chopra fell short of retaining his gold medal in the men's javelin throw at the ongoing marquee event securing silver with a best throw of 89.45 meters.
Chopra's best throw came on his second attempt, but he struggled with four consecutive foul throws, which prevented him from winning gold.
After post-independence, Neeraj Chopra became the second male athlete to win two Olympic medals in an individual event.
His first and third attempts were invalidated by red flags, and his final three attempts were also fouls.
Despite his strong performance in the qualification round, where he threw 89.34 meters, Chopra could not surpass his season best in the final.
His 89.45-meter throw was his second-best performance but not enough to retain his gold.
He looked under pressure before taking the run and the Indian javelin thrower crossed the line once again and was given a red flag in his fifth attempt. His last and sixth attempt was also disqualified after he crossed the line while throwing.
