"I am a fighter. I want to compete wherever I can. I live in a country whose law does not permit me to. We have no choice, all athletes must comply with it," Mollaei said in an IJF statement.
Judo - World Judo Championships - Men's Under 81 kg - Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan - August 28, 2019 - Iran's Saeid Mollaei and Russia's Khasan Khalmurzaev compete. (photo credit: REUTERS)ByRACHEL WOLF