"And the new
Miss Universe
is... Miss India," said
Priyanka Chopra as she extended her congratulations to
Harnaaz Sandhu
for bringing home the crown at the 70th Miss Universe pageant.
Taking to her social media handles, the former
Miss World, congratulated the 21-year-old saying, "Congratulations @HarnaazSandhu03… bringing the crown home after 21 years!"
Priyanka, who is currently shooting for her OTT project with the Russo Brothers, also shared Harnaaz's moment of crowning glory as she celebrated her victory.
Only two Indians before Sandhu have won the title of Miss Universe - actors Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.
The 70th edition of the event was held in Eilat, Israel, where the 21-year-old bagged the coveted pageant.
The Chandigarh-based model, who is pursuing her master's degree in public administration, was crowned by her predecessor Andrea Meza of Mexico, who won the pageant in 2020.
While Paraguay's Nadia Ferreira, 22, was crowned as the second runner-up, South Africa's Lalela Mswane, 24, was the third runner-up.
Sandhu holds multiple pageant titles like Femina Miss India Punjab 2019, as well. She has also starred in many Punjabi films.
During an interaction at Times Fresh Face 2021, Harnaaz spoke about her preparation for the pageant and to represent India on the world stage. She said, “I believe I am the only candidate who got the shortest time to prepare, but the team has been putting in a lot of effort to bring the best version out of India. And I am getting a lot of training, be it in terms of communication or putting myself out there confidently. I promise to each one of you that you will enjoy the process – all these efforts will not go in vain.”
When asked about her future plans and journey ahead, if she wins the crown she says, ‘’I would want to focus on Bollywood”