Indian-American Shree Saini from the United States bagged the first runner-up title at Miss World 2021 pageant in Puerto Rico. Saini was the first Indian-American to win the Miss World America title. She is in fact the first Asian to win this title.
An advocate for heart health, Saini has had a permanent pacemaker since she was 12 and overcame a major car accident which left her with burns all over her face.
Recently, Shree Saini revealed her story of overcoming facial burns and heart defect to encourage people to overcome their daily challenges.
In her Instagram post she wrote: “A few years ago, while in University, I was in a major roll over car accident that left my face with bleeding wounds. I no longer had my face. I couldn't even recognize myself. I couldn't even cry because my tears would burn as they would pass down my wounds. It was the most excruciating pain I had ever endured. I was lucky to have survived my car accident and to be alive. I used that as my anchor thought, to rise up from that difficult time. All of us maybe going through some challenges in our lives and I want to share about my personal experience to encourage people, to keep being solution-oriented, to never lose sight of hope, to have a possibility mindset, and to apply solutions to every day difficulties.”
Saini had dreamt of participating in the beauty pageant ever since she was a kid. In an Instagram post, she revealed that she dressed up as Miss World at the age of six. “Because I saw Miss World as a superhero. A woman who serves with her loving heart,” she wrote.
While Karolina Bielawska from Poland was crowned Miss World 2021, India’s Manasa Varanasi made it to top 13 contestants. Varanasi could not make it to the list of top 6 contestants.