Bombed but unbroken, the Iraqi Paralympian aiming for table tennis gold

Overcoming severe injuries from an attack when she was three, Najla Imad Lafta now has a chance of glory in Paris

Najla Imad Lafta recounts the fateful day a bomb tore off parts of her legs and right arm.

Only three years old at the time, she had left her breakfast and dashed outside after hearing a familiar car horn in the street.

As her father's car rolled to a gentle stop, he stepped out and scooped her up, placing her alongside him in the front passenger seat.

Then a deafening boom suddenly ripped through the neighbourhood in her hometown of Baqouba in north-eastern Iraq.

“The sound of the explosion was very loud,” Ms Lafta, now 19, recalls during a break in her training for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games that start a month from today.

A sticky bomb had been placed under her father’s car, one of the methods used by militant groups to target security forces and government officials. At the time of the bombing in 2008, her father was a soldier who worked at a local military base with US troops.

“The car was completely on fire, and my mum and dad went into the flames and pulled me out of it,” Ms Lafta says.

“I regained consciousness later in hospital to realise that I lost my right arm and two lower limbs,” she adds, her eyes reflecting the pain of the memory but also the determination that has made her a champion in her chosen sport.

Ms Lafta is one of three females among the 20 Iraqi athletes participating in this year's Paralympics, Luay Ali Hussein, deputy head of Iraq's table tennis federation, told The National.

He said two had suffered life-changing injuries in the violence that beset Iraq after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled long-time dictator Saddam Hussein.

Iraq's Paralympic athletes will be competing in nine sports: table tennis, judo, Taekwondo, swimming, archery, athletics, weightlifting, shooting and fencing.

Their participation embodies the resilience of ordinary Iraqis in the face of war and political instability, and offers hope to others who have been similarly affected.

Najla Imad Lafta practises for the 2024 Paralympics. Aymen Al Ameri / The National

Beating depression

Ms Lafta fell into a depression after the bombing, which left her with her right leg amputated at the thigh, her left leg at the knee, and her right arm at the biceps.

“It was a shock to me and my family, as the day before I was running and playing with the kids,” she recalls.

“The psychological effect was very significant.”

She found solace in table tennis, which she took up in 2015 when her father bought her a set and put it in a room upstairs.

“I love playing table tennis. Whenever I feel upset or going through a tough time, I immediately go upstairs and play with my dad, sisters and brothers, as it helps release the negative energy,” she says.

When I got into sports and saw athletes with disabilities who had lost limbs yet showed determination, strength and patience, it gave me much more self-confidence

Najla Imad Lafta,
Paralympic table tennis player

It took her some time to overcome the challenges she faced at the beginning, but after six months of intensive training she won a tournament in Baghdad in which she was the youngest player, securing her a place in the national team.

Since then she has participated in at least 30 local, regional and international tournaments, picking up gold and silver medals, and trophies.

She took part in the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021 and won gold at the 2022 Asian Para Games in China after defeating Ukrainian world champion Marina Lytovchenko.

Turning point

“For me, sport is a turning point in my life,” Ms Lafta says.

“When I got into sport and saw athletes with disabilities who had lost limbs yet showed determination, strength and patience, it gave me much more self-confidence.”

Najla Imad Lafta has set her sights on a gold medal in Paris. Aymen Al Ameri / The National

Her message to people living with disabilities is: "Never stop, nothing is impossible. With our determination and resolve, we can achieve what we want and make our dreams a reality. We must not stand idly by."

At the indoor hall of the National Paralympic Committee in Baghdad, she enters the training centre balancing on her stick with the practised grace of someone who has turned adversity into strength.

She warms up by stretching her muscles before carefully attaching her prosthetic limb for her right arm.

With the bat firmly in her left hand, she approaches a small basket of ping-pong balls, picks one up and shoots it across the table with a quick, deft motion.

The sharp, rhythmic sound of bat against ball echoes through the hall, a testament to her unwavering spirit and relentless pursuit of excellence.

She has set her sights high for the Paris games, which run from August 28 to September 8.

“My ambition is to win the gold medal,” she says.