Ifrah Wali (born November 29, 1995) is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

skier. She made history by becoming the first winner of the Giant Slalom event at any South Asian Winter Games when she won at the inaugural games held in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

.Skiing sisters grab gold, silver
Express Tribune 14 January 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2010 In recognition of her exceptional contributions, she was honored with the President

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

in 2023, highest civil award in the sports category.

Family and background

Wali belongs to Ghahkoch Valley in District Ghizar,

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

. Ifrah Wali, the progeny of the Gushpur family, the former royal family of the Punial Valley district Ghizer, excelled in the art of skiing mainly because she spent most of her childhood growing up in Ratto – a snow-capped area of Astore Valley where her father, Col. Amjad Wali, was posted in the army for nearly 11 years. Wali completed her high school education from Army Public School, Gilgit and later graduated from Nust Business School in 2017.

Career

In 2011, Wali won the Giant Slalom event at the South Asian Games in India by beating her sister,

Amina Amina (or Aminah) is the loose transcription of two different Arabic female given names: * ʾĀmina (Arabic: آمنة, also anglicized as ''Aaminah'' or ''Amna'') meaning "safe one, protected" * ʾAmīna (Arabic: أمينة, also anglicized as ''Am ...

and an Indian competitor to the podium. Ifrah Wali was selected by the Pakistan Ski Federation (SFP) to train in Hintertux, Austria in FIS skiing camp for one month in Nov 2014. While training Ms. Wali met with an accident and broke the tibia and fibula of her right leg. SFP spoke person said regarding her injury, "Ifrah met the tragedy while doing training as she slipped from a slope of Hintertux glacier

n Austria N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

from where she was airlifted to a hospital. She is being treated at the hospital where the doctors have advised her six-week bed rest." Wali received one gold and two bronze in Karakoram International Ski Cup 2017, Pakistan's first international skiing championship. A total of 9 countries participated in this event with participants flying in from Turkey, Ukraine, Morocco, Afghanistan, India, Tajikistan, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, and Iran. In January 2017, Wali was named to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

2017 Asian Winter Games The 2017 Asian Winter Games (), also known as Sapporo 2017 (), were a continental winter multi sport events and the 8th edition of the Asian Winter Games. They were held from February 19 to 26 2017 in Sapporo and Obihiro in Hokkaido, Japan. The ...

team. Ifrah Wali, along with a contingent of 20 members represented Pakistan in the Asian Winter Games, Sapporo 2017. Ms. Wali received 23rd position in Giant Slalom and 25th position in Slalom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wali, Ifrah Living people People from Gilgit-Baltistan Pakistani female alpine skiers South Asian Winter Games gold medalists for Pakistan South Asian Winter Games medalists in alpine skiing Year of birth missing (living people) Alpine skiers at the 2017 Asian Winter Games