KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 — A beauty pageant is obviously more than wearing a nasi lemak-themed national costume or looking picture perfect.
The road to being a beauty queen can be a rough one with even boot camp being one of the activities.
Recently-crowned Miss Universe Malaysia Shwetajeet Kaur, who is also known as Shweta Sekhon, said contestants had to go to a boot camp prior to pageant week to boost their stamina and flexibility.
It also included vocational training to brush up the contestant’s public speaking, catwalk and stage presence skills.
“It was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” added the part-time model, who won the coveted title three weeks ago.
To stay fit, she will soon be put on a strict diet plan and must attend regular exercise classes with her personal trainer.
“At the moment, I regularly do cardio and go for hiking every Sunday,” she said.
To keep the waistline slim, she also often goes on intermittent fasting.
Her life, she admitted has changed tremendously ever since winning the title.
“In a blink of an eye, my life took a whole new turn,” she said.
According to her, she now has a significantly eventful schedule ahead of her every day to prepare for the Miss Universe 2019 event.
The beauty queen said she usually gets up around 8am to have a light breakfast and kick off her daily chores.
“The schedule is not fixed. It all depends on what’s planned for me on the day.”
“But if I have a long day ahead and my call time is around 11am, I prefer to wake up an hour later to save my energy for later in the day.”
Shweta said for now, her daily schedule is usually filled with media interviews, photoshoots, events and training sessions to prepare her for the Miss Universe event.
Not her first win
This title, is however, not her first win having taken part in the Miss World Malaysia 2016, her first pageant stint.
Shweta who was initially the first runner-up, became the titleholder for the pageant when Tatiana Kumar was stripped off her title for unbecoming conduct shortly after the event.
This year, she tirelessly committed herself to achieve her ambition of winning the Miss Universe Malaysia title.
Being the total package that she is, the 22-year-old Kuala Lumpur-born beauty claimed the title without a hitch.
Moving forward, Shweta said she is all set to take on any challenges to prepare herself before joining the beauty queens around the globe to compete for the Miss Universe title at a yet-to-be revealed location later in the year.
Becoming an influential woman has always been a dream of the new beauty queen since she was a teenager.
“Growing up, I always wanted to stand on the stage and scream out my country’s name,” she said.
Family support
Blessed with a small yet supportive family of three, comprising her mother and elder sister, Shweta attributes her success to her family’s continuous support.
“When I began doing modelling, my mother saw the calibre in me and encouraged me to take part in the Miss Universe Malaysia pageant,” she added.
However, the journey to winning the title wasn’t an easy feat for the beauty queen.
“My pageant experience was fun, but of course it was filled with many challenges,” she said.
In her spare time, she enjoys listening to instrumental music, watching movies and reading poems.
Poised to take on the challenges ahead of her before the Miss Universe event, Shweta said she’ll do everything it takes to make Malaysia proud at the international stage.
As the new Miss Universe Malaysia, Shweta plans to champion the topic of self-confidence during her reign and also highlight women empowerment.
“My goal is to promote gender quality,” she said.
“Many people still think men are more powerful, but I feel no, we are all equal.”
