<p class="title">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">While Anukreethy Vas, a 19-year-old college student from Tamil Nadu, was crowned Miss India, Haryana's Meenakshi came in second.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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'.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I was motivated by all the Miss India winners, Aishwarya Rai, Gul Panag, all of them. My childhood fangirl dream has turned into a reality."</p>.<p class="bodytext">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."</p>.<p class="bodytext">"These 35 days of Miss India helped me discover this other side to me. My confidence got a major boost. I was an introvert, I never took initiative. But here, I was answering in front of millions... It is a big transformation for me," she says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Though the win still feels like a dream, Meenakshi is gearing up for the Miss Grand International 2018 title, where she will be representing the country.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I never wanted to limit myself, because I knew I was good in studies, sports, extra-curricular activities, so I wanted to do everything. When your dreams turn into a reality, you feel so overwhelmed. I had that self-belief to achieve all. Right now, my focus is to represent India on an international level. Later, I don't know where life will take me," she says.</p>
<p class="title">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">While Anukreethy Vas, a 19-year-old college student from Tamil Nadu, was crowned Miss India, Haryana's Meenakshi came in second.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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'.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I was motivated by all the Miss India winners, Aishwarya Rai, Gul Panag, all of them. My childhood fangirl dream has turned into a reality."</p>.<p class="bodytext">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."</p>.<p class="bodytext">"These 35 days of Miss India helped me discover this other side to me. My confidence got a major boost. I was an introvert, I never took initiative. But here, I was answering in front of millions... It is a big transformation for me," she says.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Though the win still feels like a dream, Meenakshi is gearing up for the Miss Grand International 2018 title, where she will be representing the country.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I never wanted to limit myself, because I knew I was good in studies, sports, extra-curricular activities, so I wanted to do everything. When your dreams turn into a reality, you feel so overwhelmed. I had that self-belief to achieve all. Right now, my focus is to represent India on an international level. Later, I don't know where life will take me," she says.</p>