Miss India first runner-up Meenakshi Chaudhary says she has been eyeing the title ever since she was a child and that all former beauty pageant winners inspired her to realise her dream.
While Anukreethy Vas, a 19-year-old college student from Tamil Nadu, was crowned Miss India, Haryana's Meenakshi came in second.
In an interview with PTI, Meenakshi says, "Ever since I was a kid, I used to cut out pictures of Miss India and paste that on my cupboard always thinking 'I will be there one day wearing that crown'.
"I was motivated by all the Miss India winners, Aishwarya Rai, Gul Panag, all of them. My childhood fan girl dream has turned into a reality."
Meenakshi, 21, is a state-level swimmer and badminton player and is currently pursuing Bachelors in Dental Surgery. For her, taking part in Miss India was "life changing."