Miss Grand International 2024 Rachel Gupta of India and first runner-up CJ Opiaza. Images: Facebook/Miss Grand International
CJ Opiaza and reigning Miss Grand International titleholder Rachel Gupta were the clear standouts of the Thai-based pageant, according to its president Nawat Itsaragrisil.
Itsaragrisil revealed this in a TikTok live, which was screen-recorded by one @Dainsleif_10 on X (formerly Twitter), noting he concluded the standouts after the closed-door interview.
“There were two people who [came] really close to winning the crown after the closed-door interview. There were only two people left who were competing for the crown [in] the top position: India and Philippines,” Itsaragrisil said in Thai.
According to Papa Nawat si CJ Opiaza and Miss Grand India yung naglaban sa korona after CDI.
We gave him a queen with a very beautiful personality and real. So let’s consider this attributes before we choose our next MGPH.
ctto: Nawat#CJOpiaza #MissGrandPhilippines2024… pic.twitter.com/s2Jq048Fiy
— Yashael 👑❣️📸 (@Dainsleif_10) October 26, 2024
The Thai businessman then vouched for Opiaza’s “good personality” and background as a beauty queen, while reiterating that her realness is what makes her beautiful.
“CJ [has] a good personality, and was trained to be a beauty queen. It is no wonder that she opened an institute. When you talk to her or meet her, she will be more charming,” he said.
“She is a beautiful person because of her personality, speech, and body language. She’s beautiful because she always [has] good eye contact, and she’s real,” added Itsaragrisil.
Opiaza was named the first runner-up at the Miss Grand International 2024 coronation night last October 25. She is the third Filipina to bag a first-runner-up finish after Nicole Cordoves and Samantha Bernardo in 2016 and 2020, respectively.
Meanwhile, Gupta is the first Indian woman to win the golden crown. She was named as the heavy favorite to be crowned Miss Grand International by pageant analysts prior to the coronation night.