Pashayan was a 1981 Summer Universiade Champion, a two-time European Champion, having won consecutive gold medals at the 1981 and 1982 FILA Wrestling European Championships, and a two-time and reigning World Champion, having also won consecutive gold medals at the 1982 and 1983 FILA Wrestling World Championships, making him the gold medal favorite of the Greco-Roman flyweight (52 kg) division at the 1984 Summer Olympics.