KATHMANDU: Shrinkhala Khatiwada was crowned Miss Nepal World 2018 as she beat 24 other contestants at the grand finale of the beauty pageant held at Hotel Annapurna, Durbarmarg on April 11. Miss Nepal World 2017 Nikita Chandak handed over the crown to 22-year-old Khatiwada.

The final seven contestants were asked “What three tasks need to be performed to make a prosperous Nepal and happy Nepali?” by chief judge Gopal Sundar Lal Kakshapati, Chairperson of The Hidden Treasure.

And Khatiwada’s answer was, “I believe there’s a lot that needs to be done to make our country a developed one. However, if I have to think of three major changes that can happen — first we need to change the bureaucratic system of our country, which is so corrupt from the grassroots to the top. The second is I would like to empower the youth. Youth, the majority of population of our country, can make big changes, if we try. If youth put their hands together to make our country prosperous, if we lead our country with vision, if we become job creators, visionaries, create employment opportunities by ourselves by trusting the government — then in the end, we all Nepalis should be able to trust in ourselves, it’s like a ripple effect of positivity. If one person brings a big change, it’s like a drop on the ocean that spreads out among the thousands of minds that brings positivity in the nation. I believe that we all will join hands together and believe that we can bring big changes.”

And that bagged her the crown.

Khatiwada, who hails from Hetaunda, also won two more titles — Miss Beautiful Hair and Yamaha Miss Fascino.

Ronali Amatya, Priya Sigdel and Manita Devkota won the titles of Miss Nepal International, Miss Nepal Earth and Miss Nepal Universe respectively. Sigdel was also the winner of Miss Beauty with a Purpose, Devkota won Miss Glamour, and Amatya was announced the winner of Miss Talent title.

All four winners won a cash prize of Rs 100,000 each. Meanwhile, Khatiwada also received Yamaha Fascino Scooter, Colors S11 phone and tickets from Turkish and Thai Airlines.

The winners will represent Nepal in various pageants around the world — Sigdel will participate in Miss Earth in the Philippines, and Devkota will compete for Miss Universe in China.

Other title winners included — Sayara Lama (Miss Friendship), Mahima Singh (Miss Photogenic), Laxmi Poudel (Miss Punctual), Ashma Dhungana (Miss Intellectual), Megha Shrestha (Miss Athlete), Aastha Saakha (Miss Confident) and Sandhya Adhikari (Miss Popular Choice).

The final 25 contestants had been selected from auditions that were held in eight major cities of Nepal including Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, Chitwan, Dhangadhi and Nepalgunj among others.

The event also saw the performances of singers Swoopna Suman and Suzeena Shrestha, and performance artiste Alize Biannic.

The event was organised by The Hidden Treasure.

(UPDATED)

KATHMANDU: With all laurels, Shrinkhala Khatiwada has won the title of Miss Nepal World-2018 outshining other 24 contestants at the beauty pageant grand finale held in Kathmandu this evening.

The beauty contest was organised by the Hidden Treasure at the Hotel Annapurna, Durbar Marg on Wednesday.

Priya Sigdel garnered the title of Miss Nepal Earth 2018 while Ronali Amatya bagged the title of Miss Nepal International 2018, and the title of Miss Nepal Universe 2018 went to Manita Devkota.

A total of 25 ladies across the nation were selected for the final race in the competition.

Other sub-titles were awarded to:

Miss Glamour: Manita Devkota

Miss Talent: Ronali Amatya

Miss Punctual: Laxmi Poudel

Miss Intellectual: Ashma Dhungana

Miss Fascino: Shrinkhala Khatiwada

Miss Friendship: Sayara Lama

Miss Best Hair: Shrinkhala Khatiwada

Miss Photogenic: Mahima Singh

Miss Confident: Aastha Sakha

Miss Popular Choice: Sandhya Adhikari

Miss Athlete: Megha Shrestha

Beauty with a Purpose: Priya Sigdel