A Pakistani child, six year old Mallak Faisal Zafar, surprised the country when she became the first Pakistani citizen to win a competition of figure skating in Austria.
A relatively unknown sport in the country, with no government-supported sporting facilities for the activity anywhere in the country, Zafar participated in the 24th International Eiscup Inssbruck, Austria's largest figure skating competition.
Zafar was a part of the two-day Basic Novice Girls II category in the competition, and came out first in the category while she was competing against skaters from Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, as well as Austria itself and other countries. In all these countries, figure skating is a government-recognized sport, and all send figure-skating athletes for participating in figure skating events at the Winter Olympics.
Zafar, who only began to figure skate at the age of 5, has set the bar very high for other Pakistani men and women interested in the sport of figure skating. She hopes to one day represent the country in the Winter Olympics.
Zafar's performance at the Austrian event can be seen here on her Youtube channel.