Sabina Altynbekova, a living anime character from Kazakhstan, is off to Hong Kong to meet fans

Kazakhstani volleyball player Sabina Altynbekova is in Hong Kong meeting the local volleyball team and thousands of her fans.

The pretty doe-eyed leggy kawaii from Kazakhstan was caught in the spotlight of the local media and won the hearts of hundreds of thousands of anime fans in Asia and all over the world after she appeared at the nine-day Asian Under-19 Championships in Taiwanese Taipei. She completely outshined the entire event and has retained her popularity since.

In an exclusive interview to Tengrinews this weekend the young dark haired brown eyed teen talked about her plans for the visit and dreams for the future.

“I’m planning to visit Hong Kong to meet volleyball players and share experience with them. We will be training together. Also, there will be a meeting with local celebrities. And finally, my favourite part is that I will meet with my fans,” the 18 y.o. volleyball player said with a childish smile.

For Sabina this will be the first time she celebrates New Year away from her native Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

As for her future plans, Sabina will dedicate more time to the sport and studies.

“Sport is the most important thing for me and I continue training. There are new opportunities, but sport is number one for me,” she insisted.

Possibly, one of the opportunities Sabina mentioned was her first role in a film. In 2015, the young volleyball sensation will play the main role in a feature film directed by a Kazakhstani filmmaker Farkhat Abraimov.

“The film is about the return of a child home after being adopted by foreigners in the 1990s. It is about his return to his homeland. It is a heartbreaking story with a happy end,” a producer Galym Baituk said.

Meanwhile, Sabina is in her freshman year at the Kazakh National University. The athlete is studying biology and biotechnologies to become a coach. After graduation she plans to get a Masters degree, possibly in International Relations. Sabina noted that she always wanted to study International Relations, but could not enrol due to her tight schedule and trainings.

By Gyuzel Kamalova