A 19-year-old Iraqi table tennis player, Najlah Imad, made history at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games by winning gold. This victory marks Iraq’s first-ever gold medal in the sport and their first gold of the 2024 Games.
Imad’s path to victory included a 3-1 win against Ukrainian Maryna Lytovchenko in the women’s class six final. Lytovchenko, the reigning Paralympic champion from Tokyo 2020, is the world’s highest-ranked para table tennis player in her class.
Imad’s journey is one of resilience. At just three years old, she tragically lost much of her right leg, her left leg below the knee, and her right forearm in a 2008 bombing in Diyala, Iraq.
She discovered table tennis at age 10, and despite initial family concerns, the sport became a transformative force in her life. She even represented Iraq at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics as a 15-year-old. “Table tennis was a turning point. Since I started playing, my life has changed,” she shared earlier this year.
This gold medal is Iraq’s third overall Paralympic gold. In total, 20 Iraqi athletes competed across 10 sports at the 2024 Paris Games, bringing home three medals: Imad’s gold, and two bronze medals in athletics and powerlifting.
