Miss Grand International 2018 1st runner up Meenakshi Chaudhary has had her fair share of accomplishments. From being crowned Miss Grand India to winning Miss Grand Slam, this fashionista has won it all with her charming looks and on-point sartorial choices. Let's know more about her. (All pictures/Meenakshi Chaudhary-Instagram)
Updated On: 2020-02-09 09:16 AM IST
Meenakshi Choudhary hails from Panchkula in Haryana. She was pursuing bachelors' degree in dental surgery from National Dental College and Hospital in Punjab when she participated in the 2018 Femina Miss India.
In the Femina Miss India 2018 pageant, she represented her state and was crowned Miss Grand India. In the preliminary round, she was awarded Miss Photogenic.
Choudhary represented India in the Miss Grand International 2018 pageant held in Yangon Myanmar, where she was crowned the 1st runners up. She became the first Indian woman to be placed in this position in the contest.
She also won the Miss Grand Slam 2018, an online beauty pageant, becoming the second Indian woman to achieve such a fleet, after Lara Dutta won in 2000
She crowned her successor Shivani Jadhav of Chhattisgarh as Miss Grand India 2019, in the Femina Miss India pageant last year.
Chaudhary was also awarded the 'Pride of India' at the Femina Miss India pageant last year for her winning streak in the international pageants in 2018.
She has been a champion of gender equality and has been actively working for this issue in Haryana.
In an interview with IANS, she once said, "My state has really done an excellent job, especially with the help of government. So now we really can’t say that girls are less because they are actually working so hard to bring the equality in terms of boys and girls, in terms of gender."
"Time has proven itself that girls are not less than anybody, specifically in my state Haryana. You see in terms of sports, beauty pageants, I think Haryana has left a mark with Manushi Chillar, with Phogat sisters. We’ve proved our mark in each and every field," she said in the interview.
Chaudhary saw her winning streak in beauty pageants as a childhood dream that came true.
In an interview with PTI, she said, "Ever since I was a kid, I used to cut out pictures of Miss India and paste that on my cupboard always thinking 'I will be there one day wearing that crown'."
She considered former beauty title holders like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Gul Panag as role models.
For Chaudhary, being crowned Miss Grand India 2018 was a 'life-changing moment.'
"I never wanted to limit myself, because I knew I was good in studies, sports, extra-curricular activities, so I wanted to do everything. When your dreams turn into a reality, you feel so overwhelmed. I had that self belief to achieve all," she added.
