Despite losing a number of colleagues in the war, the Iraqi Paralympic team is busy preparing for the 2008 Beijing Games. The lives of the disabled sportsmen have been touched by tragedy, but that has not diminished their eagerness to compete.

The deaths of their teammates from sectarian violence and suicide bombs have not stopped 31 athletes braving the streets of Baghdad to reach their training grounds.

“One of the nine killed athletes was Qassem Matar, who was blind. The coach of our national wheelchair basketball team, Ibrahim Abdullah, was killed by the U.S. troops,” Fakher al-Jamali, Secretary General of the Iraqi Paralympics Committee, said.

But it's not only terror attacks the athletes have to cope with. In a country ravaged by war there is a shortage of training equipment and facilities.

“We feel a lack of attention from the government. We got medals in Arab countries and won in many championships but no one appreciates that,” Zaki Dekra, a weightlifter, said.

In the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games, two weightlifters from Iraq won gold and bronze medals. This time round they will compete in weightlifting, tennis, fencing, swimming and volleyball.