Sabina Altynbekova is a no ordinary doe-eyed fresh faced girl. Sabina, aged 17 is among the few people in this world who can say they have an anime (Japanese animation) made in her likeness and about 45, 131 followers on Instagram. The statuesque teen rose to stardom during the Asian Championship U-19 volleyball competition in Taipei where fan turnout significantly increased especially when she was playing in the championship.
Sabina, representing her county Kazakhstan, has become the object of affection of many across the Asian continent with several marriage proposals on her Facebook page. The fans were so taken by her beauty and stature that they would arrive early to the matches to spend more time with her. The Straits-Times reported that Taiwanese fans were holding Kazakhstan flags and arriving an hour early just to see her.
Sabina has received a fair share of criticism by people who think she is too beautiful to ‘waste’ her beauty in sports.
Surprisingly, Sabrina is not fazed by the attention. In fact she is actually a bit irritated, she has said “it is a bit too much” and when rumors of her going into modeling her mother quickly clarified, “she has recently entered Kazakh University for Humanities and Law.” Contrary to popular belief, a little media attention does not make a socialite.
The alluring young lady stated that; “I want to concentrate on playing volleyball and to be famous for that, not anything else.” With a good head on her shoulders, she is focused on sports, education and living life like every teenager enjoying all the challenges and joys life has to offer at that age.
But when I saw the fuss made over Sabrina, I am reminded of the Saudi gentleman who caused a frenzy around the world. His name Borkan Al Gala. A chiseled face, the loveliest pink lips I ever saw and a head of hair worthy of a hair commercial. Simply put he is gorgeous! He is suspected to be among the men deported from Saudi Arabia for being too handsome.
So the fundamental question is really, is it fair to ostracize someone because of their beauty or lack thereof? In High School there were the different cliques and unfortunately these do carry forward into life after High school. But does it have to? The need to pigeon hole everyone into boxes is a far cry from the reality.
Reality is that Sabina Altynbekova is not only pretty but she is also smart. Sometimes it is difficult for people to see the grey, because it really is not just black and white. In campus, it is even more evident probably because free thinking is cultivated.
