FILE PHOTO: Judo - World Judo Championships - Men's Under 81 kg - Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan - August 28, 2019 - Iran's Saeid Mollaei reacts. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
(Reuters) - Iran judoka Saeid Mollaei is hopeful of securing a spot in next year's Tokyo Olympics even though he has refused to return to his country after defying orders from Iranian authorities to pull out of last month's world championships.
The 2018 world champion, who has been in hiding in Germany due to fears over his safety, said both the International Judo Federation (IJF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had assured him a spot in next year's Games.
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