Suchata “Opal” Chuangsri (pic) has been crowned Miss Universe Thailand in a lavish final held at The Mall Lifestore Bangkapi that kicked off with a grand opening show featuring all 40 contestants.
She will go on to represent Thailand in the Miss Universe 2024 pageant to be held in Mexico later this year.
Opal, who was representing Bangkok, received the Starlight Crown from Mouawad along with a sash, a bouquet from Floedesign and various other prizes.
The first runner-up was Surisa “Suri” Susanna Renaud, representing Phuket, with Kanruthai “Muk” Thasabut, representing Ubon Ratchathani coming in third place and Boonyisa Chantrarachai, representing Maha Sarakham in fourth place.
Opal first competed in Miss Universe Thailand 2022 and finished as the third runner-up. She was later promoted to second runner-up after the first runner-up relinquished the title.
Born on March 20, 2003 in Phuket, where her parents run the Homeplace Hotel in the old town, Opal is trilingual and speaks Thai, English and Chinese.
She graduated with a focus on Chinese language from Triam Udom Suksa School and is currently studying Political Science, majoring in International Relations at Thammasat University.
At 16, Opal faced a health scare when she was diagnosed with a 10cm lump in her breast and underwent surgery to remove the non-cancerous lump.
This health challenge was a turning point for Opal, inspiring her to participate in beauty pageants to raise awareness about breast cancer, the leading threat to women’s health worldwide. — The Nation/ANN
