King Khan on the importance of the British Asian Sports Awards

THE one abiding memory from the 2004 Olympics in Athens was the image of a young Amir Khan with the Union Jack flag around his shoulders and a silver medal around his neck.

The then 17-year-old was the only participant from Great Britain in the boxing event but putting himself on the map by getting to the final and securing a medal.

He finished runner-up after losing to Cuban legend Mario Kindelan. But Khan captured the hearts and minds of the nation and soon everyone wanted a piece of the boy who would go on to become king.

Few outside of the amateur boxing circles had heard of Khan before the Games but he was already being touted as a future star by the only event to encourage and celebrate the achievement of British Asian sportsmen and women from grassroots to the professional scene.

The boy from Bolton had been recognised by the Lebara British Asian Sports Awards (BASA) and was asked to put himself forward for an award for his achievements in amateur boxing in 2003.

Having won the Junior Olympics in America as well as the European junior title and a few schoolboy championships, Khan was considered for the Most Up and Coming Sports Personality of the Year Award but just missed out on making the shortlist.

But then he went on to become the youngest British Olympic boxing silver medallist in Athens and the following year was crowned BASAs Sports Personality of the Year Award.

“BASA has done a lot for me and have been there since day one. They’ve seen me grow from the grassroots scene to becoming world champion,” said the BASA brand ambassador during a busy day of activities at his Gloves Gym in Bolton.

“I won a lot of things before going to the Olympics in Athens. I won the junior Olympics, the European juniors and school championships but no one recognised my achievements except BASA.

Khan has won four awards at the BASAs in total and takes his role as ambassador serious, hoping to use it in a positive way to inspire a new generation of sports stars from the Asian community.

“BASA is a great event to be part of and I’m honoured to be an ambassador for the awards because I love to inspire youngsters and give advice which could change their lives and give them something to work towards.

“I’m sure there are a lot of people who are in the same position as I was in 2003 and need some guidance and support.

"The BASAs are a platform for them, like they were for me. I hope that in ten years time we will see more Asian Olympiads, world champions and premier league footballers."

Khan is currently preparing for the fourth defence of his WBA world light-welterweight crown against Ireland’s Paul McCloskey.

The fight takes place on April 16 at Manchester’s MEN Arena and the 24-year-old travelled to Los Angeles to begin his preparation for his 26th professional bout.

But Khan will have one eye on this year’s Lebara British Asian Sports Awards which take place at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on Saturday 5th March.

He is most likely to miss the glittering awards gala but believes this year’s awards, like the previous years, will uncover more potential champions from the Asian community and those excelling in their chosen sports.

"Over the past ten years that the BASAs have been in existence there has definitely been an increase in people coming forward to take part and this must be a reflection of changing attitudes in the community,” said Khan.

"We now have stars like Michael Chopra, Rajiv Ouseph and Isa Guha as well as hundreds of other hopefuls who are all proving that it’s not about colour but how good you are at your sport.

And Khan has also done his bit to give back to the community, including opening a gym in his hometown which is open to people of all abilities.

"This gym was created to give the community here in Bolton to inspire and nurture new talent in exactly the same way.

"Kids can come here and see that even a young kid from Bolton can make his dreams come true. All it takes is a bit of hard work, lots of commitment, encouragement and support.

“My dream is to bring through the next Amir Khan. There’s some great talent that we have and one day, they could end up being potential winners at the BASAs in the future.”