Pakistan’s Ice Princess | Mallak Faisal Zafar

Mallak started skating when she was 5 years old and became a pro, Figure skater at age 9. Her dream is to raise the Pakistani flag at the Winter Olympics. With her stellar performance, a 12-year-old figure skater is winning medals at international competitions and winning the hearts of returning fans who have dubbed her “Pakistan’s Ice Princess”.

Mallak Faisal Zafar, a Pakistani girl based in Dubai, topped the two-day Basic Novice Girls II category at the 24th International Eiscup Inssbruck 2019 (November 22-24) in Austria, which made Pakistan proud.

In an interview, she told her journey: “Here in Pakistan I started skating at four as a hobby. When I first stepped on the ice I liked it. And it was a very fun sport to me. So I skated as a hobby for four years and then I took things more professionally. Skating wasn’t popular before in Pakistan before I went on my first visit to Pakistan where I have introduced to the sport of figure skating. All the kids liked it and they started to make the sport bigger. And a lot of people were skating now from my third visit to a Malam Jabba and Gilgit-Baltistan. I saw hundreds of little kids to adults skating and doing different types of skating”.

 A question asked by her, where did you get your training from and what are the challenges that you face you know why while you are doing this? She answered, “I trained in Dubai with my coach Luda.  It’s very hard to manage between school and skating. Because it’s really hard to manage. I would wake up in the morning, go skating then go to school around 8 o’clock and then I would come back from school and then go skating again for about 2 more hours.

After then I would go back home to do homework and sleep. I do have a strict diet. I mostly stick to no sweets or junk food, stick to more healthy foods like chicken or salad that is very high in protein and carbs so that I have energy for my skating”.

  A question asked by an interviewer, Since the world has now seen your talent after your video got viral and social media has anyone from the government contacted you has anybody approached you that will facilitate you will train you? Yes from Pakistan now you have been to know that you have been training on your own and Dubai. But from here has anybody contacted you?

She answered, “I was invited by the Winter Sports Association Gilgit-Baltistan of and the adventure tourism group, PT DC. I enjoyed my visits to Malam Jabba Gilgit-Baltistan to all sets and all of those other wonderful places in the north. I saw potential in the kids and even adults who were skating. They were very good and I could see that they were working on the sport to make it a bigger sport”.

She plans to represent Pakistan and hold up the Pakistani flag in the coming Junior World Championships. She would take skating as a career. Her main job would become an Architect or engineer.

She said, I would like to thank my parents’ friends and followers for supporting me during this journey. I would like to tell you guys to visit Pakistan. Because it is a beautiful place especially in the north”.

Pakistan needs such type of talent. A great appreciation for her and her parents, who encouraged her leads to her passion.  The success of every girl should be the inspiration to another.