LONDON (AP) — Top-ranked fighter Aaron Cook had his Olympic hopes revived after the British Olympic Association ordered the national taekwondo body on Thursday to review their London Games selections.

Cook appealed to the BOA this week after being denied a spot on the team despite winning more major taekwondo tournaments than any other British fighter in his 80-kilogram weight division.

The BOA said it "could not ratify" the taekwondo federation's chosen athlete in the division and told the body to reconsider its choice.

"Thank you to the BOA," Cook said on Twitter. "If given the chance, I will make (Britain) proud."

Instead of Cook, British taekwondo authorities picked Lutalo Muhammad, who recently won the European championships in a heavier weight division.

The BOA's four-person panel said the taekwondo selection committee should meet as soon as possible — with the addition of an outside observer. The panel cannot select individual athletes, but can accept or reject the taekwondo committee's nomination.

The BOA also said both athletes should be represented before the selection committee, preferably by their personal coach.

Cook has won more tournaments than any other fighter in his category, but annoyed British taekwondo officials when he left the national program last year. He narrowly missed out on a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and has won a string of competitions since going solo and hiring his own set of coaches.

Cook often trains in a gym built by his parents in the backyard of his Manchester home. He has an unorthodox fighting style and favors high spinning kicks to the head — the kicks which score the most points in taekwondo.

Officials from the World Taekwondo Federation, the martial art's governing body, said they provided British officials with a list of guidelines for picking their Olympic athletes. As host nation, Britain automatically received four spots without going through the usual qualification protocol. Among the criteria was that chosen athletes should be ranked in the top 20 of the WTF's list from May 2010 to April 2012.

Cook has consistently been ranked among the top five fighters within that period while Muhammad has ranked only as high as 56.

The British taekwondo body released a statement saying they were considering whether to appeal the BOA decision; they have 24 hours to make any such appeal.

"Our nominations have been based on what we judge to be the best for the British Olympic team in terms of medal potential, as well as for the sport as a whole," the group said. "We recognize that this may lead to unpopular or contentious decisions."

Cook had been part of Britain's elite taekwondo training program for several years before abandoning it last year after disagreements over how he was being coached. His current coach, former taekwondo champion Patrice Remarck, has said Cook was not being pushed enough by the British system.

The refusal to name Cook on the Olympic team sparked outrage among some British Olympians, including four-time rowing gold medalist Matthew Pinsent. He said on Twitter that Cook fell victim to "small-time sport politics."