PH bet is 3rd runner-up in Miss Grand Int’l 2015

The winning streak for Filipinas continued after Miss Philippines Parul Shah was crowned third runner-up in the Miss Grand International 2015 beauty contest in Bangkok, Thailand Sunday night.

The 5’7” Shah also won Best in National Costume for donning a Muslim Maranao-inspired outfit designed by Filipino designer Edwin Uy. The beauty queen was expected to arrive in Manila last night.

“BPCI is proud of this achievement and would like to thank everyone who helped Parul in this amazing journey,” the Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. said in a statement.

Ann Colis set the trend for Filipina beauty queens this year when she was crowned Miss Globe 2015 in Toronto, Canada recently.

Seventy-seven contestants from around the world competed in the 2015 Miss Grand International beauty pageant that encourages women to support the campaign against war and violence.

Anea Garcia of the Dominican Republic was crowned Miss Grand International 2015.

First runner-up was Miss Australia; India, second runner-up; and Miss Thailand, fourth runner-up.

Shah, 26, graduated from the Univer- sity of the Cordilleras with a bachelor’s degree in Nursing. She speaks English, Tagalog, Pangasinense, Hindi, and Arabic.

Born in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Shah, 26 said that her contract with BPCI would expire in September and was ready to give up hopes on an international contest until she was tapped to represent the country to the Miss Grand International pageant.

Other winners of special awards were Miss Popular Vote, Sri Lanka; Best in Swimsuit, Costa Rica; Social Media, India; and Best in Evening Gown, Japan.

Other candidates in the Top 20 included representatives from Poland, USA, Angola, France, Ukraine, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Spain, and Costa Rica.