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Skaters from the sunny countries of Asia one by one conquer the ice. After the performance of Turkmen athletes Larisa Vakhitova and Aina Ekeeva at the 1st Winter International Sports Games “Children of Asia” at the Sakhalin ice arena “Crystal”, Zahra Lari from the United Arab Emirates came to Russia to conquer the heights of figure skating.

The performance of Zahra Lari, the first figure skater in the hijab world, is eagerly awaited at the XXIX World Winter Universiade 2019, which takes place in Krasnoyarsk. Fans of figure skating know the "Ice Princess in the Hijab", as journalists affectionately call her, in elegant and light skating, symbolic costumes and a steady friendly smile.

The path of Zahra Lari in big-time sports was associated with technical difficulties that are understandable for hot countries where winter sports are only being born.

• The biggest problem for us is the lack of ice rinks. We only have one special arena in Abu Dhabi. The other rink is designed for different winter sports, it is used in hockey. This is the maximum that is in the UAE. These difficulties are understandable, since I am the first person to do this. A person who does something for the first time always faces challenges, says Lari.

With growing interest in atypical sports for southerners, the prospects for athletes will increase. So, in Turkmenistan, where the temperature in winter rarely drops below zero, figure skating and hockey develop. For this purpose, indoor arenas are being built, foreign specialists are invited, who hold seminars for coaches and athletes.