Excuses and poor diet hold Asian athletes back, claims boxer Amir Khan

Amir Khan has accused young Asian sportsmen and women of allowing excuses and a poor diet to stop them fulfilling their potential. The 35-year-old former world champion boxer picked out Asian footballers, in particular, for supposedly lacking dedication and allowing racism to undermine their development.

Speaking on Monday during a farewell press conference, having announced his retirement from boxing last week, Khan was asked if he was proud of his legacy. He turned professional in 2005, having won an Olympic silver medal the previous year at the age of 17, at a time when there were few high-profile boxers of South Asian heritage in Britain. The situation is very different now and many talented Asian boxers cite Khan as their inspiration.

“They all want to try now,” Khan said. “It’s an amazing platform for them to see what I’ve done and that it’s possible for them to do the same and achieve what I’ve achieved. People used to say: ‘We are Muslim, we are Asian, we can’t make it in boxing. We’re not going to be picked.’ It’s an excuse that all Asians use – that we’re never going to be picked. Look at football for example. There are no Asian footballers but guess what they all say? ‘We won’t get picked because we’re Asian.’ I think that’s a fucking load of bullshit, really. It’s a load of bollocks. Asians, when we can’t to a certain extent, give up. We don’t have it in us.”

“Look, us Asians are not really meant to be fighters,” Khan continued. “We’re not supposed to be good sportsmen and women. Our diet is appalling. It’s curries. It’s not the right diet to be a champion. If you put us against a lot of English fighters their diet is a lot better. They’re stronger than us. But obviously I changed my way of living. Luckily, I