In the men's -80kg division, World N10 Mehran Barkhodari, N23 Mirashem Hosseini, N58 Amir Mohammad Bakhshi and World N25 +80kg Abolfazi Abbasi Pouya were among the 11 athletes competing for a qualification spot. Barkhodari had the best chance to qualify, and he started in the quarter-finals, where his rival Abbasi Pouya withdrew on the decision of his coaches.

The other two Iranians also reached the semi-finals. Hosseini lost to Uzbekistan's Jasurbek Jaysunov and didn't reach the final. Barkhodari was paired in the semi-finals with Bakhshi, who withdrew at the decision of the coaches. Barkhodari reached the final, where he defeated Jaysunov to book his ticket to the Olympics. 

Bakhshi also had high hopes of qualifying, but had to sacrifice himself to help his teammate. "We are a team and it was an honour to me to sacrifice myself for Iran's quota. It is the coach's decision. It was a very difficult decision for me to make. Congratulations to Mehran Aziz for winning the Olympic quota," he said. 

Amir Mohammad Bakhshi had previously a win over Shukhrat Salaev of Uzbekistan, who was one of the main contenders. "If he had beaten me, he could have been a problem for Iran's quota," the athlete added.

The 2018 Asian Games 68kg runner-up is now thinking about the 2028 Olympic cycle. "The Paris Olympics are over for me now. I have learnt from my mistakes and will continue to train harder than before to participate in the next Olympics in 2028 and make my country proud in this great field," Bakhshi concluded.