Mumbai, 13th December 2021: After 21 years, the crown of Miss Universe 2021 is in India’s name. Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu of India won the title in the 70th Miss Universe pageant in Eilat, Israel.
Before Harnaaz Sandhu, two Indians have won the title of Miss Universe. Sushmita Sen won this title for the first time in 1994 and Lara Dutta for the second time in the year 2000.
Apart from modeling, Harnaaz Sandhu has also worked in two Punjabi films ‘Yara Diyan Poo Baran’ and ‘Bai Ji Kuttange’.
The 21-year-old Harnaaz, who hails from Chandigarh in Punjab, defeated Nadia Ferreira (22) of Paraguay and Lalela Maswane (24) of South Africa to claim the title. Sandhu was crowned by Andia Meja, former Miss Universe 2020 of Mexico.
Harnaaz is pursuing her post graduation in Public Administration. She has been participating in beauty pageants since the age of 17. First, she won the Times Fresh Face Award. After this, she won the title of Miss Diva 2021. In 2019, she also made it to the Femina Miss India Top-12 after winning the title of Femina Miss India Punjab.
After winning the Miss Universe title, Harnaaz said, “I would like to express my gratitude to God, my parents and Miss India Organization who guided and supported me in this whole journey. It is a proud moment to bring this glorious crown to India after 21 years.”
In the final round of the competition, the contestants were asked what advice they would give to young women to deal with the pressure they are feeling at the present time. To this Harnaz replied, “The major pressure the youth are facing at the present time is to believe in themselves. Knowing that you are unique and that is what makes you beautiful. Stop comparing yourself with others and talk about the important things happening around the world. That’s what you need to understand. Come out and speak for yourself because you are the leader of your life, you are your own voice. I believed in myself that’s why I am standing here today.”
