Haroon Khan to appeal ban – Olympic news
It has recently been announced by the father of the young boxer Haroon Khan that both father and son will put up an appeal against the decision taken by the International Boxing Association that imposes a ban on the 20-year-old boxer from representing Pakistan
at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
According to what Shah Khan, the father of the young athlete, told BBC Radio Manchester, the story goes like this: "The Pakistan boxing federation got an email that Haroon can't represent them as he represented England as a youth. We sent letters out to
AIBA and we're hoping that they'll accept all this."
Haroon Khan boxed for England in 2009 and wanted to represent England again in the Commonwealth Games 2010 that were staged in Delhi. However, Khan was not given a chance to do so. This caused him to take part in the event by representing Pakistan. Khan
successfully accomplished this by winning Pakistan a bronze medal at the games.
Khan was scheduled to participate in the World Boxing Championships that are to be held in Azerbaijan and that are also going to act as qualifiers for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Khan was hoping to represent Pakistan at the upcoming tournament.
"Their rulings say when a boxer becomes a national in more than one country then he has decided which country he wants to represent. He became a national of Pakistan in 2010, now that was after he'd boxed for England. Then he decided he wanted to box for
Pakistan, which he did in the Commonwealth games, where he won a bronze medal,” Shah added.
Shah finds it difficult to understand why Khan is not being allowed to represent the country of his choice as the rule clearly allows him to do so. Both father and son are eagerly waiting for the decision.
Haroon Khan is not the only boxer in the family as his elder brother, Amir Khan, has already made his mark in the international boxing arena. Amir Khan holds the championship titles of the WBA Super and IBF Light Welterweight championships.
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