Teenager Najla Imad Lafta sealed a historic gold medal for Iraq after defeating Ukrainian Maryna Lytovchenko 3-1 in the final of the table tennis women's class 6 at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Lafta's 3-1 victory over the Tokyo 2020 champion at the South Paris Arena on Saturday was Iraq's first gold of this year's Paralympics and first-ever in the sport.
The 19-year-old's run to the final had been hugely impressive. France's Morgen Caillaud was brushed aside 3-0 in the quarter-finals before Lafta delivered a thrilling 3-1 win against Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Maliak Alieva to seal her place in the final.
Beating Lytovchenko to the top prize on Saturday completed a remarkable journey for Lafta, who lost much of her right leg, left leg at the knee, and right forearm after a sticky bomb attack on her father's car in her hometown of Baqouba, in north-eastern Iraq when she was just three years old.
After struggling with the psychological effects of such a horrific attack, Lafta would find solace in sport. “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 said in an interview with The National in July.
“For me, sport is a turning point in my life. 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.”
She took part in the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021 and won gold at the 2022 Asian Para Games in China after again defeating Lytovchenko. “My ambition is to win the gold medal,” she said in July.
Now, less than two months later, that ambition has been achieved in an international career that has already seen her compete in more than 30 events.
“My advice to all people, especially women, is that my disability has not prevented me from achieving my dream. Strive, and continue to work until you reach your dream,” she said before setting off for Paris.
“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.”
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
Copa del Rey final
Sevilla v Barcelona, Saturday, 11.30pm (UAE), match on Bein Sports
Background: Chemical Weapons
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
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ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
