I used to be an able-bodied person.
I wasn't born with a wheelchair.
Life goes on.
One day, while I was getting treatment at the hospital,
they advised me to try fencing.
The idea of sport...
..is what will unite people.
It will clear extremism from people's minds.
(IN THE DARKEST CORNERS
(OF WAR-TORN NATIONS
(THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT ENDURES)
(ATHLETES UNDER FIRE)
(AMMAR HADI ALI
(WHEELCHAIR FENCING, IRAQ)
(BAGHDAD, IRAQ)
My name is Ammar Hadi Ali,
I'm a wheelchair fencer with the Iraqi national team.
I'm a carpenter.
One morning, I was on my way to work
and it happened that there was a bomb on the sidewalk.
It exploded while we were passing by.
It hit me and my friend, who's also a work colleague.
We were taken to hospital.
They found a shrapnel in my back.
I couldn't move my legs when I woke up.
They knew it had hit my spinal cord,
which put me in a wheelchair.
(BAGHDAD, IRAQ)
(WAR HAS DEVASTATED IRAQ SINCE 2003)
(AMMAR IS ONE OF AN ESTIMATED 150,000 IRAQI CIVILIANS
(DISABLED BY CONFLICT)
The coaches in the club said...
my physical features,
long limbs and chest,
qualify me for wheelchair fencing.
I tried the sport and liked it.
One year had passed
until they chose me for a championship abroad,
the Asian Games in Guangzhou in 2010.
(AMMAR QUALIFIED TO JOIN IRAQ'S PARALYMPIC TEAM AT RIO 2016)
(COMPETING ALONGSIDE ATHLETES REPRESENTING 159 NATIONS)
(AMMAR DOMINATED THE FIELD TO REACH THE FINAL)
Starting to get excited.
The first to 15.
The most important thing for a fencer
is to understand his rival.
He needs to draw in his imagination.
And he has. 13-all.
In two hits' time will be the new Paralympic champion,
the winner of... One hit.
After the draw with the Belarussian rival,
he got me with the last touch.
I wasn't lucky.
(AMMAR'S MEDAL SUCCESS
(BROUGHT HIM TO THE ATTENTION OF ALL OF IRAQ)
Winning a medal opened many doors.
It provides opportunity
to those who have achieved success.
So, it opened a new life for me...
thanks to this medal.
(EACH DAY THE NUMBER OF INNOCENT WAR VICTIMS
(CONTINUES TO RISE)
God willing, what is going on here, it will be gone soon.
God willing, things will get better.
It's our duty as youth.
If we can't make a change,
we should teach the next generation to make a change,
even if it's a simple change.
(AMMAR WANTS TO BUILD IRAQ'S JUNIOR WHEELCHAIR COMPETITORS
(INTO CHAMPIONS)
(HE'S DETERMINED TO ELEVATE HIMSELF AND HIS TEAM
(FOR TOKYO 2020)
We're trying to build a strong team.
It demands focus,
persistence, strength,
accuracy and speed.
Mindfulness is a must.
There's Tokyo Olympics 2020.
The preparation for it starts now.
(RISING STAR UMAIMA FALEH WANTS TO QUALIFY FOR TOKYO 2020)
I feel that sport makes me forget.
It makes me feel that I'm OK.
It doesn't remind me that I lost my legs
but if I'd stayed at home
it would have been so hard for me.
(WHEN UMAIMA WAS 15, HER HOME WAS HIT BY A BOMB)
I didn't know what happened.
It was a black cloud over us.
We couldn't see anything, even though it was daytime.
When I woke up,
I had no legs.
I lost my father.
My mother was injured as well.
(TAKING A BREAK FROM TRAINING,
(AMMAR IS TRAVELLING TO AN ACTIVE WAR ZONE)
We're on our way to Baghdad International Airport
to travel to Erbil, to then drive to Mosul's outskirts.
(BAGHDAD, IRAQ)
(MOSUL)
This is the first time I've been to Mosul.
I didn't expect that such a nice area would be destroyed
because of Isis.
It's really sad.
Iraqis seek life.
Terrorism won't stop them.
(TWO KILOMETRES FROM THE BATTLE ZONE
(AMMAR VISITS A FIELD HOSPITAL)
Thank God you're safe.
I'm Ammar Hadi Ali,
wheelchair fencer for the Iraqi national team.
I got injured,
but I went for sport.
- Stay determined - OK.
- Thank you. - May God protect you.
You're my honour.
- God bless you. - Have a good journey.
Thank you so much.
I'm honoured.
(IRAQ PARALYMPIC ASSOCIATION, BAGHDAD)
(IN TWO WEEKS, AMMAR IS COMPETING IN
(THE IWAS WORLD CUP IN THE (NETHERLANDS)
(THE TEAM ARE FIGHTING IT OUT FOR A PLACE TO JOIN HIM)
This competition is like training.
The first team scoring 45 touches wins.
Ammar is a strong guy.
Of course, everyone follows his steps
and, God willing, I would like to reach his level.
(TO TEST IF UMAIMA IS READY, AMMAR CHALLENGES HER DIRECTLY)
Put on your masks.
(DISTANCE BETWEEN COMPETITORS
(IS SET BY THE ATHLETE WITH THE SHORTER REACH)
(DESPITE AMMAR'S ADVANTAGE,
(UMAIMA STICKS WITH HIM POINT FOR POINT)
It's not that hard.
Sport helps all Iraqis.
It dispatches them from the situation they're in,
especially us, the disabled, more than the able-bodied.
(DESPITE A STRONG PERFORMANCE, UMAIMA WASN'T SELECTED
(FOR THE WORLD CUP EVENT)
It's not the end of the world,
nor is it the last championship.
There are so many championships ahead.
I hope I will do good - that is what I aim for.
The most important one for me is Tokyo 2020.
I deeply hope I get a medal.
Ammar Hadi Ali of Iraq.
(AMMAR COMPETED AT THE IWAS WORLD CUP
(AND WON A BRONZE MEDAL)
Sport gave me a new perspective to life,
especially through the success I've achieved.
I'll continue my journey.
It's a long journey, though.
(AMMAR AND THE TEAM CONTINUE TRAINING FOR TOKYO 2020)
(THEIR SUCCESS IS ATTRACTING A GROWING NUMBER OF NEW RECRUITS)
Good job.
- Great job! - Why are you afraid?