Nukhailawi represented Iraq at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, entering the shot put, discus and javelin throw. His best result was in the javelin, in which he finished third. Nukhailawi also competed for Iraq at three IPC Athletics World Championships, winning a silver medal in the javelin in 2011 in Christchurch. After the 2012 Paralympics, the International Paralympic Committee reclassified the F40 category, creating two new classifications. Nukhailawi was placed in the F41 classification from which he competed from 2013. It was in this category that he won the shot put gold medal at the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon.