Who is Suman Rao? All you need to know about Miss World 2019 second runner up from India

Who is Suman Rao? Her full name is Suman Ratan Singh Rao. She was born on November 23. 1998. She is an Indian model and beauty pageant title holder who was crowned Femina Miss India 2019. She represented India at the Miss World 2019 pageant in ExCeL London in the United Kingdom. She was crowned second runner up Miss World 2019.

Suman Rao (right) after winning Miss World 2019 second runner up title

Suman Rao : Dressed in all black, ready for media interviews. Suman Rao was born on November 23 1998 in Aaidana village, near Udaipur, Rajasthan. Her father, Ratan Singh Rao, is a jeweller, while mother Sushila Kunwar Rao is a homemaker. She has two brothers, Jitendra and Chirag. Her family shifted to Mumbai when she was a year old.

Suman Rao did her schooling from Mahatma School of Academics and Sports in Navi Mumbai. She is currently pursuing Chartered Accountancy(CA) Course from the University of Mumbai. Suman Rao is fluent in English and Hindi. She also speaks Mewari, her mother tongue. She is a trained Kathak dancer.

In 2018, Suman Rao took part in Miss Navi Mumbai contest where she was crowned first runner up. Then she auditioned for the title of Femina Miss Rajasthan 2019 which she eventually won. Suman Rao represented the state of Rajasthan at the Femina Miss India 2019 pageant.

On 15 June 2019, Suman Rao was crowned as Femina Miss India World by the outgoing titleholder Anukreethy Vas at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium, Mumbai. During pageant's sub contest ceremony, she won the 'Miss Rampwalk' award.

Suman Rao represented India at the 69th edition of Miss World pageant where she was placed third in the 'Top Model' round and Top 27 in 'Talent' segment. She [Suman Rao] won the first stage of Head-to-Head Challenge in Group 14, thus qualifying for the succeeding round of the challenge, which was judged by Piers Morgan. She competed against Bangladesh in the round, where she won and secured a spot in the Top 40 of Miss World 2019.

Suman Rao's 'Beauty with a Purpose' project was also selected in the Top 10. Her campaign is titled ‘Project Pragati’, for which she took initiatives to help the dreams of women in tribal communities by assisting them in acquiring financial independence. She procured machines which aids in the production of aloe vera and rose extracts, gels and shampoo. Thereby, the women could manufacture the products and earn their livelihood from within their village. Her project received support from the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation and through this institution, the women were trained to make handlooms, decorative handicrafts, accessories and jewellery. These products are sold near the Jaipur City Palace and also through an online website. Further, she associated with the Bharat Sevashram Sangha, a non profit organization backed by the United Nations, for an even wider reach of their products.

Miss World 2019 grand finale was held in ExCeL London, United Kingdom on December 14 2019. Suman Rao is the first Indian to be crowned second runner-up at Miss World. She also won the Continental Queen of Asia award and will travel the world with the new Miss World Toni-Ann Singh of Jamaica as part of the Beauty With a Purpose project.

A little selfie time : Besides being a model, Suman Rao is trained Kathak dancer. On Instagram, Ms Rao posted a video of her dancing to a classical song. She captioned the post and wrote, "Only a day left for me to start my once in a life time journey and I'm all set with my preparations! Here's presenting a teaser of my dance video to all my supporters for the love and best wishes I've received for @missworld."