Lausanne, Mar 4 (AFP) Iranian-born former world champion judoka Saeid Mollaei is free to compete for Mongolia, the International Olympic Committee confirmed.

The 2018 world champion Mollaei was embroiled in a political row when he was reportedly ordered to throw a match to avoid a combat with the Israeli Sagi Muki, who then went on to win the 2019 world 81kg title as the then Iranian came third without fighting him.

In October, the International Judo Federation said it had banned Iran from international competition over the country's refusal to allow its fighters to face Israeli opponents.

Iran said the ban was based on "false claims".

Mollaei, who has been living in Germany, may now qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. AFP

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)