Miss Thailand Suchata Chuangsri url: Crowned Miss World in Hyderabad
Hyderabad: Thailand’s Opal Suchata Chuangsri, a breast cancer surgery survivor, was crowned Miss World 2025 on Saturday night in Hyderabad, becoming the first from her country to win the title. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Julia Morley of the Miss World organisation, and Kristina Pyszkova, the current title holder, presented Suchata with the crown as chants for Thailand filled the venue.
Suchata beat out Ethiopia’s Hasset Dereje Admassu, who placed second, a first for her country; Poland’s Maja Klajda, and Aurélie Joachim of Martinique, who finished fourth. Miss India Nandini Gupta, who had earlier made it to the top five in Asia and won the Fast Track segment, exited just before the final shortlist.
Suchata, a 21-year-old student of international relations at Thammasat University, had earlier won the Multimedia Challenge and was among the crowd favourites. Fluent in Thai, English and Chinese, she has previously spoken about her personal journey after undergoing breast surgery at the age of 16, which inspired her health campaign ‘Opal For Her’. She had won the Miss Thailand title a week before the Miss World Pageant started earlier this month.
As her name was announced, her mother Supattra, seated in the audience wearing a beautiful lehanga appeared too overwhelmed to speak. A fellow Thai team member in the crowd, Jesse, broke down in tears. “This is our first crown. She’s beautiful inside and out. Thailand kept trending on Twitter because people truly love her,” he said. Jesse, who runs a Thai pageant fan page, added that the country had been supporting Opal relentlessly online and offline.
The final round tested the remaining contestants with one question: “What would you do if you were Miss World?” Only one from each continent made it through to the last stage based on their answers. Alongside Thailand were Poland from Europe, Martinique from the Americas, and Ethiopia from Africa.
Suchata replied: “I always believe that no matter who you are and no matter how old you are, no matter what title you hold in your life, there is always a person next to you — whether it's a child, whether it's an adult, it could even be your own parents — that look up to you in a way. And the best way to lead people is to lead with their gracefulness in your actions. That is the best thing we can do to the people around us and in our world.”
The audience was packed with cheering sections, especially Thailand’s. One of the Indian visitors, Sridhar from Hyderabad, said the experience was unforgettable. “The best part was the question round. The answers were brilliant. I came with my wife and I’m glad we did.” He also enjoyed Ishaan Khatter’s dance performance.
Tourism minister Jupally Krishna Rao said the contest helped project Telangana’s culture and hospitality on a global platform. He credited Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s initiative for hosting one of the world’s biggest pageants. The minister thanked government departments, international teams, and volunteers, saying their coordinated efforts helped make the event a success.
As the evening closed, Suchata stood on stage wearing the crown, tears in her eyes, as the crowd roared and lights bathed the stage in gold.
