Iraqi Paralympics table tennis athlete Najla Imad (right) practices at a club in Baquba on Feb 26.

BAQUBA, Iraq — When car bomb survivor Najlah Imad first took up table tennis, her relatives warned against it. But a decade later, the Iraqi teenager who lost three limbs is gunning for gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games.

"Table tennis was a turning point. Since I started playing, my life has changed," the 19-year-old athlete said.

Najlah was just 3 years old in 2008 when a sticky bomb ripped into her father's car in Baquba city, northeast of Baghdad.

In a split second, like tens of thousands of Iraqis, Najlah became a victim of bombs that have ripped through the conflict-scarred country for decades.

She lost most of her right leg, her left leg at the knee and her right forearm. But she now recounts the life-changing incident with a sense of calm. "Table tennis has improved my mental health," she said in a dilapidated sports center in Baquba.

Najlah's face lights up when she speaks of her sports journey. But her smile disappears when she stands on her prosthetics in front of the blue table, ready and focused to hit the ball with utmost precision.

The young athlete, with black hair at neck length, discovered her love for the game at the age of 10 when a trainer visited her house looking to form a local Paralympic team.

Her family was initially hesitant and cautioned her, predicting that she would be exhausted and "wouldn't achieve anything".

But it did not stop her.

"When I first started, I saw other people with disabilities playing sports despite losing their limbs," she said.

Najlah admired their positive energy. "They were always smiling, which encouraged me," she said.

After six months of intensive training, Najlah played her first match in a local Baghdad tournament.

"I won!" Najlah said. "I was the surprise of the competition."

The first triumph fueled her passion, and she became a fierce competitor. Over the years, Najlah has participated in 30 international tournaments, winning medals and trophies, which she proudly displays on a shelf in her modest home.

In 2021, she went to Tokyo for the Paralympic Games. And last year, she won a gold medal at the Asian Para Games in China.

Iraq's Paralympic Committee provides Najlah with a modest monthly stipend and travel expenses to competitions when the budget allows it.

She traveled to Qatar in March to prepare for the Paris Paralympics in August.

"I always aim for gold," Najlah said.