image source, Getty Images
Patrick Brown wins the men's heavyweight quarterfinal, qualifying for the Paris Olympics
British boxers Pat Brown and Chantelle Reid secured their places at the 2024 Paris Olympics on the final day of the world qualification tournament.
Teammates Owain Harris-Allen and Ciaran MacDonald were both sidelined at Busto Arsizio in Italy on Monday.
But Bolton-based Cindy Gamba, 25, became the first boxer on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Refugee Team to qualify for the Olympics.
Born in Cameroon, Ngamba moved to the UK at the age of 10 and trains with the GB team.
The middleweight then scored a stoppage victory over Kazakhstan's Valentina Harzova in the quarterfinals of the women's 75kg weight class, which was enough to secure her a spot in Paris, as there are four Olympic berths in that weight class. Ta.
“It's emotional,” she said. “I want to thank God, the British boxing team and the refugee team.
“If it wasn't for the refugee team, I would have turned pro or gone on a different journey. They stuck by me and welcomed me like a big family.
“I told myself that I was not only qualifying for myself, but for God and the refugee community. It's a big family, and there are millions of us. But I'm just one of those who is given the opportunity.”
Ngamba's training partner Reid won another middleweight slot with a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan's Aziza Zokirova and secured a spot, so the four quarter-final winners will box again There was no need.
Brown also won a unanimous decision against Poland's Mateusz Bereznicki in the men's heavyweight quarterfinals and is looking forward to competing in Paris.
“I've been dreaming of this since I was 7 years old and it was my first time going to a boxing gym,” he said. “It means the world to show the kids in amateur boxing clubs that anything is possible.”
Featherweight Harris Allen then lost to Brazil's Luis Oliveira, and flyweight McDonald lost to Kazakhstan's Saken Vivosinov.
The final chance to reach Paris will be given at the second qualifying tournament to be held in Bangkok, Thailand in May.
GB's Charlie Davison, Rosie Eccles and Delicious Olly had already qualified for last year's European Games in Poland.
