British Olympic chiefs back Cook case

British Olympic Association (BOA) chiefs on Thursday refused to back the decision to exclude European taekwondo champion Aaron Cook from the London Olympics team.

Cook, 21, was controversially overlooked for a place in the Olympic team by British Taekwondo following a reported spat over the fighter's decision to remove himself from the body's elite training programme.

The British youngster -- who is set to be ranked as world number one before the Games -- was snubbed in favour of Lutalo Muhammad, who will have to drop down a weight division to compete in Cook's under-80kg category.

Cook protested against the move to the BOA, whose Olympic Qualification Standards (OQS) panel has now reviewed the case and ordered British Taekwondo to reconsider its selection.

"The Panel also recognised the complexity and difficulty of the decisions the Selection Committee had before it, particularly with respect to two outstanding and highly qualified athletes in the Men's Under 80 kg weight category," the BOA said in a statement.

"On the basis of the process that was followed by Sport Taekwondo UK in arriving at its nomination for the Men's Under 80 kg weight category, it was the unanimous decision of the OQS Panel that it could not ratify the nomination."

AFP