A lack of funds made bringing in a foreign coach impossible, and there are now set to be several job losses across the Union, including that of President Rashid Hassan along with financial secretary Ahmed Zughayyar and Amin Serfrad Khalid.

"The Committee decided to dissolve the Union of Table Tennis for the Disabled, and will be depriving boss Rashid Hassan of his position fora two consecutive terms while also removing the financial secretary Ahmed Zughayyar and Amin Serfrad Khalid for one term," said the body's President Aqil Hamid.

"The public has decided to initiative each year to a vote of confidence to the members of the Executive Office so as to ensure the sustainability of the work as that serves disability sports."

Hamid also claimed that the Iraq Paralympic Committee was being forced to make several unspecified important decisions at their annual general meeting, following the announcement in December 2014 that they were to have their budget slashed as a result of Government austerity cuts.

Saeed Ali competed at the London 2012 Paralympic Games for Iraq but was eliminated at the first round stage ©Para Asian Games



Table tennis is one sport where Iraq has sent athletes to the Paralympics, with Class eight player Saeed Ali competing at London 2012 with one win and one loss.

That number increased to three at last year's Para Asian Games at Incheon in October 2014, and the team included Ali and Muntadher Farooq Ali-Sarraji, who both reached the quarter-finals in their respective classifications, along with Fakhrulddin Fattah Najm.

Iraq has also been the beneficiary of funding from the International Table Tennis Federation in the past after they provided equipment and also conducted courses in the country back in 2007 and 2008.

But it can be assumed the ongoing conflict across Iraq, consisting of the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant over the last year, has contributed to the demise of Iraqi sporting infrastructure and the consequent shortage of funding.  

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December 2014: Iraqi Paralympic athletes facing restrictions after Government austerity budget cut
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