Too beautiful? Kazakh volleyballer an online star, but a distraction for team

A teenage volleyball player for the Kazakhstan Under-19 team has become popular after being spotted in the Asian Championships held in Taiwan last week.

 

Sabina Altynbekova has attracted fans with her innocent doe-like features and petite build. She was instantly catapulted to internet stardom after photos and videos of her circulated online.

 

Reports rued that the teen was "too beautiful" for volleyball and viewers of the tournament focused on her rather than the matches. Even her coach reportedly admitted having difficulties with handling the team due to the attention.

 

"Fans just stare at her and they are not following the championship any more," The Daily Mail quoted the Kazakh newspaper Vesti.

For her part, Altynbekova said she just wants to go back to playing volleyball.

"I was flattered at first but it's all getting a little bit much," she said. "I want to concentrate on playing volleyball and to be famous for that, not anything else."

 

Online hit

 

But her admirers seem undeterred, taking to drawing animated versions of her and creating Facebook fan pages and Instagram accounts.









As of this posting, her own Instagram account has more than 280,000 followers, while her Twitter account drew 39,000. A Facebook fan page, meanwhile, has 157,000 likes. — Marisse Panaligan/JST, GMA News