Thai queen stripped of Miss Universe placement after coronation as Miss World rep
Former Miss Universe 2024 3rd runner-up and current Miss World-Thailand Suchata “Opal” Chuangsri. Photo by @sousla_pluie / Instagram
Thai beauty queen Suchata “Opal” Chuangsri was crowned the new representative of her country to Miss World 2025 on April 22, only to be stripped of her other title as a runner-up in Miss Universe 2024 on the same day.
The “dethronement” followed Chuangsri’s proclamation as Miss World Thailand at a press conference in Bangkok, when the Miss Universe Organization released a statement later in the day divested her of the third runner-up placement that she earned at the 73rd international competition held in Mexico last year.
As this developed, Thai pageant mogul Nawat Itsaragrisil, founder of Miss Grand International Ltd, has formally been appointed executive director of Miss Universe. (Story to follow — ed.)
Chuangsri was sent to the 2024 Miss Universe pageant as the winner of the Thai national search, which was then mounted by TPN Global.
TPN, however, lost the Thai Miss Universe franchise earlier this year after Itsaragrisil’s Miss Grand International Ltd. acquired the license.
Meanwhile, Miss Thailand World organizer Tero Entertainment announced its partnership with TPN Global during the press conference held at the Channel 7HD headquarters in Bangkok, the same day of Chuangsri’s Miss World Thailand coronation.
Chuangsri received her new Miss World Thailand crown from Tero Managing Dir. Brian Marcar and TPN Global Executive Chair Piyaporn Sankosik, with 2023/2024 national winner Tharina Botes also appearing onstage.
The new Miss Universe Thailand team had earlier announced that aside from Paweensuda Drouin, no other national queen crowned under TPN Global will be invited to the pageant, including Chuangsri and 2023 Miss Universe runner-up Anntonia Porsild, an unprecedented for the Miss Universe Organization.
Pointing fingers
Pageant observers point to Itsaragrisil as the alleged culprit, saying it was him who has had a penchant for “dethroning” runners-up under his Miss Grand International brand.
Even if there were no “thrones” to speak of for the runners-up, with just the crowned top winner enthroned as queen, Itsaragrisil still “dethroned” second runner-up Thae Su Nyein from Myanmar and third runner-up Safiethou Kabengele from France, both from the 2024 contest.
Filipino queen Roberta Tamondong received one of the five fifth runner-up placements in the 2022 Miss Grand International pageant after Itsaragrisil stripped Mauritius’ Yuvna Rinishta of the position a week after the final competition.
This was not the case in the Miss Universe pageant before, especially at the time when several countries’ winners were also their representatives to the rival Miss World pageant.
South African queen Lalela Mswane finished third in the 2021 Miss Universe pageant held in Israel. And after several months, she competed in the Miss Supranational pageant and ended up with the title. The Miss Universe Organization did not strip her of her runner-up placement.
Another South African beauty, Cindy Nell, was able to take part in the two international pageant within her reign as national queen. She posted a second runner-up finish in the Miss Universe pageant before heading to the Miss World pageant months later.
There were also similar cases during the infancy stage of the major international pageants, when there were only a few them. Stella Araneta first competed in the 1960 Miss Universe pagent before becoming the first-ever Miss International winner months after.
Chuangsri, TPN Global, and Tero Entertainment have yet to issue any retaliatory statement after the Miss Universe Organization’s decision to strip the Thai queen of her previous placement in the 2024 Miss Universe pageant.
The Thai queen is set to compete in the 72nd Miss World Festival in Telangana, India, in May, hoping to score her country’s first-ever victory in the longest-running international beauty contest.
Krishnah Gravidez will represent the Philippines at Miss World 2025, and try to post the country’s second Miss World win, following Megan Young’s coronation in 2013.
The 2025 Miss World pageant’s coronation show will be held at the Hyderabad International Convention and Exhibition Center (HITEX) in Hyderabad on May 31.
