The competition exists out of a single elimination tournament, with athletes competing against each other in a head-to-head format. Each contest consists of three rounds of three minutes, with the knockout draw based on a seeding system. After nine minutes, the competitor with the highest number of points advances to the next round. The athlete with the most points in the final wins the event.
Preview[]
Twenty-six athletes qualified for the event with Elvin Mamishzada as reigning world champion and top seed. He beat Yosbany Veitia in the final of the world championships and with the Cuban as second seed, it was set to become another contest between the two favorites. However, there were plenty of other potential medal contenders, including defending bronze medalist Misha Aloian, worlds bronze medalists Mohamed Flissi and Hu Jianguan, Elie Konki, Ceiber David Avila, and Antonio Vargas as the seeded athletes.