BHUBANESWAR: Sheetal Sahu of Odisha was crowned Femina Miss India Odisha 2019 in a glitzy ceremony in Kolkata. Winners of the East Zone who were announced April 23 participated in the event. She beats other two contestants from Odisha Tamannah Vyas and Arupa Rath to qualify for the title.
Finalists of 13 states, namely Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Sikkim, Assam, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and West Bengal, vied for the coveted crown and represented their states in the most prestigious beauty pageant of the country, Femina Miss India 2019.
A software engineer by profession, Sheetal Sahu was born in Rayagada district and was working in Mumbai before participating in the Miss India contest. Talking to Orissa POST, Sheetal said that she was nervous before her name was declared by the judges comprising Rituparna Sen Gupta, Esha Gupta and East Zone mentor Neha Dhupia.
She said, “Our mentor Neha Dhupia advised us to be true to ourselves and believe in ourselves to stand out. I come from a humble background. My mother, as opposed to my father, was very supportive of my endeavour. However, he is quite happy after my success. Miss India 2019 is a step for every beautiful girl towards glamour.”
Her big test will come June 15 when she stakes her claim for the crown in the grand finale which is to be held at Mumbai. The finalists of FBB Colors Femina Miss India 2019 will undergo rigorous training and grooming sessions from experts of the industry.
Neha Dhupia said, “I started my journey with Miss India and since then it has been a never-ending relationship with the pageant. Every year, I see a fresh lot of ambitious and enthusiastic girls with the dream to win the Miss India and make India proud. I’m looking forward to have Manushi’s successor this year.”