Indian medical student Manushi Chhillar crowned Miss World
SANYA, China: An Indian medical student was crowned Miss World at a glitzy event in a Chinese resort on Saturday, making her country the jointmost successful in the beauty pageant’s history.
Manushi Chhillar is the sixth Indian winner of the longrunning contest, which was first won by Reita Faria back in 1996.
Aishwarya Rai had bagged the title in 1994, followed by Diana Haydon in 1997, Yukta Mookhey in 1999 and Priyanka Chopra in 2000, the last for India.
Chhillar’s win brings India level with Venezuela as the countries with most victories in the history of the pageant, now in its 67th edition.
Chhillar, 20, is a trained Indian classical dancer who also enjoys painting and hopes to open a chain of non-profit hospitals in rural areas, according to the Miss World website.
“Thank you, everyone, for your constant love, support,” and prayers she wrote on Twitter. “This one’s for India.”
In the top five round, Chhillar was asked which profession according to her deserved the highest salary.
“I think a mother deserves the highest respect and when you talk about salary it’s not always about cash but I feel it’s the love and respect that you give to someone. My mother has always been the biggest inspiration in my life.
“All mothers sacrifice so much for their kids. So, I think it is the job of a mother that deserves the highest salary,” Chhillar said to a wide-applause.
Chhillar’s victory rapidly became a top trending topic on the social media platform in India after the announcement, with Manohar Lal Khattar - the minister of her home state of Haryana -- among the first to offer congratulations.
Chhillar was handed the crown by last year’s winner, Stephanie del Valle of Puerto Rico, at the ceremony in the Chinese coastal city of Sanya on Saturday night.
Stephanie Hill of England and Andrea Meza of Mexico finished as runners-up.
Saturday marked the Miss World pageant’s return to Sanya, on southern China’s Hainan Island, for a seventh time, where the event was last held in 2015.
At the previous occasion two years ago, controversy erupted as officials in Hong Kong stopped Miss Canada, Anastasia Lin, from boarding a plane bound for Sanya, telling her she would not receive a visa.
The 25-year old actress claimed the decision was due to her stance on China’s human rights record, including its persecution of Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual group of which she is a practitioner.
At last year’s event in the United States, Lin was again embroiled in controversy when pageant officials reportedly warned her against speaking to the press for three weeks about human rights abuses in China.
Miss Lin did not participate in this year’s event, with Canada represented instead by Cynthia Menard, a high school student.
I think a mother deserves the highest respect and when you talk about salary it's not always about cash but I feel it's the love and respect that you give to someone. My mother has always been the biggest inspiration in my life. All mothers sacrifice so much for their kids. So, I think it is the job of a mother that deserves the highest salary. Manushi Chhillar, Miss World 2017