Why did Amir Khan get banned for two years from boxing?

Pakistan-origin British boxer Amir, who became famous after he won a medal in the 2004 Olympics, has been banned from all sports for two years for anti-doping violations.

The UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) announced the shocking news. According to UKAD, Amir was found positive for taking ostarine (an anabolic agent which is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) 2022 Prohibited List), a substance that has similar effects as testosterone. Thus, he has been banned from boxing from April 2022 to April 2024.

Last April, UKAD said it notified Khan that he may have committed Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) and issued him with a provisional suspension from all Code-compliant sports on the same date.

Khan was subsequently charged with two violations of anti-doping rules for the presence of a prohibited substance and the use of a prohibited substance.

The athlete has, however, clarified that he had taken the substance well before the fight and in a very small amount and thus it had no effect on his fight. He also said that he is retired and has no plans to make a comeback thus a ban is not really understandable.

He said while talking to Sky Sports, “I’ve never cheated. But I’ve got a two-year ban now, which is quite strange and funny because I’m already retired anyway. There’s no comeback planned at all. But I’ve never cheated and I never will. That’s just not something I would do.”