I felt torn watching Cindy Ngamba's glorious Olympic triumph overshadowed by unrest in Bolton

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There is one image of Bolton the world should have been seeing on Sunday. 

Not groups clashing in front of the town hall as the disorder we’ve seen across the country reached this corner of Greater Manchester. But this, of a boxer winning the first ever Olympic medal for the Refugee Team since their introduction to the greatest show on earth. 

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Cindy Ngamba roars with delight after sealing at least a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.Cindy Ngamba roars with delight after sealing at least a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.
Cindy Ngamba roars with delight after sealing at least a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. | Getty Images

Since arriving from Cameroon, Cindy Ngamba has made Bolton her home. Proudly attached to Elite Boxing in Halliwell, she has been threatened with deportation and had the support of the local community in her right to remain in the UK. 

She trains with GB Boxing in Sheffield and barring the lack of a passport, would be wearing Team GB colours in Paris.  As it is, she became a flag-bearer for the Refugee Team and is now their first Olympic medallist - fighting for the 100 million people like her around the world.

 

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Yesterday, I was following both events - and couldn’t help be shocked by the stark paradox coming from one humble town. 

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Cindy even mentioned Bolton in her post-fight interview, beaming with pride about the place she now calls home. But as she spoke scenes so far removed from her truly inspirational story in Paris were playing out. People are appearing in court as I type this to answer for their actions. Some of them seemingly don’t even welcome ‘people like Cindy’ into their communities. 

There were unsavoury scenes in Manchester and Bolton at the weekend. There were unsavoury scenes in Manchester and Bolton at the weekend.
There were unsavoury scenes in Manchester and Bolton at the weekend. | Getty Images

Yet she is clearly the best of us and I just hope it is not them but Cindy whose voice is heard loudest as she looks to change the colour of that bronze medal to gold or silver on Thursday. 

“I’m human, just like any other refugee around the world. To any refugee out there, athlete or not, keep believing in yourself, you can achieve whatever you put your mind to.”

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Adam Lord is the editor of Manchester World. You can email him at [email protected]. This was originally sent as a newsletter direct to people’s inboxes. You can sign up here for our letters from the editor and the weekly digest that we send out every Friday.

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