Portrait of Opal Suchata - the first Thai beauty crowned Miss World
Opal Suchata, the first Thai beauty to be crowned Miss World, caught the attention of the audience with her story of overcoming breast cancer.
Báo Hải Dương•01/06/2025
On the evening of May 31, Opal Suchata Chuangsri was crowned Miss World 2025, taking place in Telangana, India. After more than 70 years, Thailand has had its first contestant win the contest. Opal's journey at Miss World is highly appreciated for its combination of beauty, intelligence and compassion.
Opal (5th from left) with the beauties who won the title at the contest. The new beauty queen is 22 years old, 1.8 m tall, a student at Thammasat University, majoring in international relations, fluent in English and Chinese. Before the final, beauty site Sash Factor predicted that she would be crowned. Missosology commented: "With what she has shown, Opal Suchata Chuangsri is a formidable candidate for the highest title. Opal's popularity in Thailand and the recognition of beauty fans around the world show that she deserves the green crown."
At the competition, Opal moved people when she presented Opal For Her - a project focusing on raising awareness and supporting women with breast cancer - in the Head to Head Challenge (top 8) and Beauty With a Purpose (top 20) competitions. She has implemented content such as collaborating with medical organizations in Thailand to design bras for patients and raising funds to support treatment. The beauty was inspired and spread the project from her own story. When she was 16 years old, she discovered she had early stage breast cancer. After a period of active treatment, she overcame the disease, then pursued a modeling career and beauty contests - as a way to spread the message of living positively and rising up after adversity. "I used to think that I would never be able to continue with a normal life, let alone step on stage. However, the challenge also made me understand that every day of life is precious. I want to use my voice to help others. I believe that true beauty must come from the heart and actions," Opal said at Miss World. News sites such as The Thaiger and Indo Thai News praised the project as a humane initiative, clearly demonstrating Opal's dedication and compassion in supporting the women's community. On the Pantip forum, viewers said that this was one of the reasons why she deserved the Miss World title.
Opal participated in Miss Universe in Mexico in November 2024 and won the title of third runner-up. In April, the copyright holder sent a Thai contestant to Miss World and invited Opal to compete in the 72nd season, and she accepted. When the information was announced, the Miss Universe organization decided to strip her of her title because she "did not complete her mission" and "violated the regulations". She said: "I only had 15 days to prepare for Miss World 2025. I carry the spirit of the nation and most importantly, the heart ready to dedicate for the betterment of the world."
Winning high achievements in two top beauty contests in less than 1 year made Opal a "phenomenon", receiving public attention and high appreciation.
Despite the controversy, the beauty continues to show her mettle at Miss World. The beauty's appeal was immediately evident when her personal information was posted on the contest's social media platform, attracting the most interactions among the 107 contestants.
Upon arriving in India in early May, the beauty quickly joined in with the activities. Images of Opal interacting with contestants or her fashion style became the center of attention, attracting attention on beauty forums.
Opal performs in her national costume at the opening event on May 10. Before the final, she won the Multimedia challenge to make it into the top 40.
At the final, the beauty impressed on stage, being named in the top 20 and top 8. In the question and answer session for the top 4, she received the question: "What has this journey taught you about truth and responsibility, about how stories are told?". She said: "This is a special opportunity that I have never had in my life. What I learned from this journey, at Miss World, is responsibility. Here, I and the other girls have become the version that we all admire. I always believe that no matter how old you are, where you are, what titles you have in life, you will always have someone by your side. It could be your parents, the people you always look up to and admire. They are the ones who will lead you to greater responsibilities and roles."
Opal was praised by many contestants for her friendliness, as shown through many photos taken together backstage. She is close to Y Nhi because she shared a room at the contest. They often have interactive and playful videos that attract millions of views. Miss World Vietnam (left) said: "I love Opal because of her warm personality and her enthusiasm for helping others. I once cried when listening to her presentation about her story of overcoming illness and building her current strength." Miss World is one of the two most prestigious beauty pageants in the world alongside Miss Universe, first held in the UK in 1951. The 72nd season took place from May 7 to 31 in India with many activities such as cultural experiences and sub-competitions.TB (according to VnExpress)
Báo Hải Dương•01/06/2025
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