Miss Universe Nepal 2023

Miss Universe Nepal 2023 was the fourth edition of the Miss Universe Nepal pageant, it was held on September 9, 2023 in Kathmandu. Sophiya Bhujel of Kathmandu crowned Jane Dipika Garrett as her successor at the end of the event.^[1] Jane represented Nepal at Miss Universe 2023, in El Salvador and ended her journey as Top 20 finalist.

Miss Universe Nepal 2023
Date	September 9, 2023
Venue	Godavari Sunrise Convention Center, Lalitpur, Nepal
Broadcaster	Kantipur Television
Director	Uddhab Adhikari
Entrants	37
Placements	22
Winner	Jane Dipika Garrett  Kathmandu
← 2022

Background

The applications for Miss Universe Nepal 2023 were opened on June 15 and closed on August 5.^{[2] [3]} Miss Universe Nepal allowed for the very first time due to the newly implemented rules of the Miss Universe organisation, for women who are either married, divorced, pregnant and mothers.^[4] The press conference of the contest was conducted at the Nepal Tourism Board Office in Kathmandu. It was announced that Asian Paints is to be chosen as the main sponsor of Miss Universe Nepal 2023.

List of the main events in the Miss Universe Nepal 2023 pageant

Location	Date	Event	Venue	Ref.
Kathmandu (5 June – 27 July)	5 June	Registration Opening	Virtual
	27 July	Press Conference	Nepal Tourism Board Office, Kathmandu
Final venue: Kathmandu and Lalitpur (5 August – 9 September)	5 August	Registration Ending	Virtual
	6 August	Quarterfinalists Announcement	Virtual	^[5]
	9 August	Top 30 Question and Answer Competition	Virtual	^[6]
	11 August	Top 30 Swimsuit Competition	Virtual	^[7]
	2 August	Semifinalists Announcement	Virtual	^[8]
	16 August	Top 22 Arrival	Kathmandu
	18 August	Top 22 Press Presentation	Dusit Princess Hotel, Kathmandu	^[9]
	3 September	Close Camp	Dusit Princess Hotel, Kathmandu
	5 September	Preliminary Competition	Dusit Princess Hotel, Kathmandu
	9 September	Grand Finale Coronation	Godavari Sunrise Convention Center, Lalitpur

Results

Color keys

The contestant Won in an International pageant.   The contestant was a Runner-up in an International pageant.   The contestant was a Semi-Finalist in an International pageant.

The contestant assumed another title.   The contestant was not able to compete in an International pageant.   The contestant did not place but won a Special Award in the pageant.   The contestant did not place.

Final results	Contestant	International pageant	International Results
Miss Universe Nepal 2023 (Winner)	Kathmandu – Jane Dipika Garrett^[1]^[10] §	Miss Universe 2023	Top 20^[11]
1st runner-up	Biratnagar – Garima Ghimire Terminated	Miss Grand International 2023	Terminated based on Discipline
2nd runner-up	Adelaide, Australia - Buddhisara Sunar
3rd runner-up	Lalitpur – Shitashma Pokharel
4th runner-up	Lalitpur – Abhilasha Lamsal ฿
Top 10	Butwal – Sarosy Neupane
	Jhapa – Sanskriti Chhetri Karki
	Kathmandu – Alista Subedi
	Lalitpur – Chanel Shrestha
	Pokhara – Puja Paudel
Top 22	Bhairahawa – Prema Lamgade
	Bhaktapur – Sabina Chaudhary
	Biratnagar – Mausami Shrestha
	Brisbane, Australia - Prarabdhi Gyawali
	Dang – Sushma RL Shahi
	Jhapa – Amisha Basnet
	Kathmandu – Palistha Bajracharya
	Kathmandu – Trishna Baniya
	Lalitpur – Prapti Khadka
	Mahottari – Pooja Bhagat
	Nawalpur – Manita Paswan
	Tehrathum – Rojina Kafle

(§): The candidate won the Miss People's Choice Award (online voting) and got direct entry into Top 10 Finalists.
(฿): The candidate won the Social Impact Leader Award (Best BBB (Brave, Bold and Beautiful) Social Advocacy) and got direct entry into Top 10 Finalists.

Special Awards and Sub-Contests

Special Awards

Award^[1]	Contestant
LeadX Social Impact Leader	Lalitpur – Abhilasha Lamsal
NIU Miss Eco Infinity	Bhairahawa – Prema Lamgade
Byanjan Miss Lifestyle	Lalitpur – Shitashma Pokharel
KTM CTY Miss Fabulous	Kathmandu – Alista Subedi
AGNI Miss Fierce	Pokhara – Puja Paudel
Nepal Telecom Miss ICT	Lalitpur – Shitashma Pokharel
WOW Magazine Miss Free & Fearless	Bhairahawa – Prema Lamgade
Miss People's Choice	Kathmandu – Jane Dipika Garrett
MARTINI Sun Angel	Pokhara – Puja Paudel
Dusit Princess Miss Elegance	Lalitpur – Abhilasha Lamsal
The Himalayan Times Miss Unstoppable	Butwal – Sarosy Neupane
Röyale Bling Miss Dazzling Diva	Lalitpur – Shitashma Pokharel
Röyale Play Miss Creative Canvas	Jhapa – Amisha Basnet
True Me Miss True Beauty	Kathmandu - Palistha Bajracharya

Miss Popular Vote

The winner of the "Miss Popular Vote" was determined via a public voting on the Khalti app with the voting page for Miss Universe Nepal or using the Miss Universe Nepal website, held on 8 September in Kathmandu.

Final Top 22 Reveal^{[non-primary source needed]}
13 August 2023

Rank	+/-	Contestant	Rank	+/-	Contestant
1		Kathmandu - Jane Dipika Garrett	12	3	Bhairahawa - Prema Lamgade
2	2	Lalitpur - Abhilasha Lamsal	13	5	Kathmandu - Palistha Bajracharya
3		Adelaide, Australia - Buddhisara Sunar	14	6	Brisbane, Australia - Prarabdhi Gyawali
4	1	Lalitpur - Shitashma Pokharel	15	3	Jhapa - Amisha Basnet
5	10	Biratnagar - Garima Ghimire	16	5	Lalitpur - Prapti Khadka
6	2	Jhapa - Sanskriti Chhetri Karki	17		Bhaktapur - Sabina Chaudhary
7	1	Kathmandu - Trishna Baniya	18	7	Dang - Sushma RL Shahi
8	2	Pokhara - Puja Paudel	19	18	Biratnagar - Mausami Shrestha
9	1	Butwal - Sarosy Neupane	20	7	Mahottari - Pooja Bhagat
10	3	Lalitpur - Chanel Shrestha	21	2	Tehrathum - Rojina Kafle
11	3	Kathmandu - Alista Subedi	22		Nawalpur - Manita Paswan

First Top 22 Reveal^{[non-primary source needed]}
20 August 2023

Rank	+/-	Contestant	Rank	+/-	Contestant
1		Kathmandu - Jane Dipika Garrett	12		Jhapa - Amisha Basnet
2		Biratnagar - Mausami Shrestha	13		Mahottari - Pooja Bhagat
3		Adelaide, Australia - Buddhisara Sunar	14		Kathmandu - Alista Subedi
4		Jhapa - Sanskriti Chhetri Karki	15		Biratnagar - Garima Ghimire
5		Lalitpur - Shitashma Pokharel	16		Lalitpur - Abhilasha Lamsal
6		Pokhara - Puja Paudel	17		Bhaktapur - Sabina Chaudhary
7		Lalitpur - Chanel Shrestha	18		Kathmandu - Palistha Bajracharya
8		Kathmandu - Trishna Baniya	19		Tehrathum - Rojina Kafle
9		Bhairahawa - Prema Lamgade	20		Brisbane, Australia - Prarabdhi Gyawali
10		Butwal - Sarosy Neupane	21		Lalitpur - Prapti Khadka
11		Dang - Sushma RL Shahi	22		Nawalpur - Manita Paswan

First Top 29 Reveal^{[non-primary source needed]}
11 August 2023

Rank	+/-	Contestant	Rank	+/-	Contestant
1		Lalitpur - Abhilasha Lamsal	16		Nawalpur - Manita Paswan
2		Pokhara - Puja Paudel	17		Lalitpur - Prapti Khadka
3		Bhaktapur - Sabina Chaudhary	18		Kathmandu - Sudina Thapa Magar
4		Adelaide, Australia - Buddhisara Sunar	19		Butwal - Sarosy Neupane
5		Lalitpur - Chanel Shrestha	20		Jhapa - Amisha Basnet
6		Kathmandu - Trishna Baniya	21		Dang - Sushma RL Shahi
7		Kathmandu - Jane Dipika Garrett	22		Nepalgunj - Sakshi Bom
8		Tehrathum - Rojina Kafle	23		Brisbane, Australia - Prarabdhi Gyawali
9		Bhairahawa - Prema Lamgade	24		Lalitpur - Shitashma Pokharel
10		Biratnagar - Garima Ghimire	25		Pokhara - Purneshwari Gurung
11		Jhapa - Sanskriti Chhetri Karki	26		Myagdi - Soniya Ramdam
12		Kathmandu - Alista Subedi	27		Lalitpur - Sabina Malla
13		Kathmandu - Palistha Bajracharya	28		Mahottari - Pooja Bhagat
14		Biratnagar - Mausami Shrestha	29		Bhaktapur - Ojaswi Joshi
15		Janakpur - Gajal Karn	30		—

Final Top 29 Reveal^{[non-primary source needed]}
13 August 2023

Rank	+/-	Contestant	Rank	+/-	Contestant
1	1	Pokhara - Puja Paudel	16	13	Bhaktapur - Sabina Chaudhary
2	2	Adelaide, Australia - Buddhisara Sunar	17	11	Mahottari - Pooja Bhagat
3	3	Kathmandu - Trishna Baniya	18	3	Janakpur - Gajal Karn
4	3	Lalitpur - Abhilasha Lamsal	19	5	Lalitpur - Shitashma Pokharel
5	16	Dang - Sushma RL Shahi	20	3	Lalitpur - Prapti Khadka
6	1	Kathmandu - Jane Dipika Garrett	21	2	Brisbane, Australia - Prarabdhi Gyawali
7	19	Myagdi - Soniya Ramdam	22	11	Jhapa - Sanskriti Chhetri Karki
8	6	Biratnagar - Mausami Shrestha	23	4	Lalitpur - Sabina Malla
9	11	Jhapa - Amisha Basnet	24	5	Butwal - Sarosy Neupane
10	2	Tehrathum - Rojina Kafle	25	7	Kathmandu - Sudina Thapa Magar
11	2	Bhairahawa - Prema Lamgade	26	4	Nepalgunj - Sakshi Bom
12	1	Kathmandu - Palistha Bajracharya	27	2	Pokhara - Purneshwari Gurung
13	1	Kathmandu - Alista Subedi	28	12	Nawalpur - Manita Paswan
14	4	Biratnagar - Garima Ghimire	29		Bhaktapur - Ojaswi Joshi
15	10	Lalitpur - Chanel Shrestha	30		—

Judges

The contestants selected their judges from the Top 10 Q&A round. The contestants selected their judge through the category of which judge they want to talk to. The theme was Röyale Bling Colours, the judges had their selected colour for judging; Azure Sky, Desert Glow, Burst of Lime, Glorious Sunset, Truffle Surprise, Ocean Breeze, Age of Dawn, Rose Essence.

• Upaul Majumdar (Desert Glow) - Head of Practice in Tourism for Dolma Consulting
• Saurabh Jyoti (Age of Dawn) - Director of Jyoti Group
• Upasana Ghimire (Rose Essence) - Editor in Chief of Nari (magazine)
• Ayusha Shrestha Karki (Glorious Sunset) - World Miss University 2003 and Director/Founder of Meraki Nepal
• Rabi Raj Karnikar (Azure Sky) - Managing Director for Sun International and President of the Nepal Equestrian Association
• Surakshya Panta (Ocean Breeze) - Nepali actress
• Sangita Pahadi (Truffle Surprise) - Chief Commercial Officer of Nepal Telecom
• Nandini Lahe Thapa (Burst of Lime) - Senior Director of Nepal Tourism Board

Candidates

37 candidates registered for the title of Miss Universe Nepal 2023. The Top 30 Quarterfinalists were announced on July 8, 2023.^[12][13]

Top 30 Final Round

Number	MUN Number	Candidate		Hometown	Age
		Romanized name	Nepali name
3	1003	Shitashma Pokharel^[13]	शिताश्मा पोखरेल	Lalitpur	23
4	1004	Sarosy Neupane^[13]	सरोशी न्यौपाने	Butwal	20
5	1005	Prarabdhi Gyawali^[13]	प्रबधि ज्ञवाली	Brisbane, Australia	27
6	1006	Sakshi Bom^[13]	साक्षी बम	Nepalgunj	23
7	1007	Prapti Khadka^[13]	प्राप्ति खड्का	Lalitpur	25
8	1008	Sabina Chaudhary^[13]	सबिना चौधरी	Bhaktapur	27
10	1010	Purneshwari Gurung^[13]	पूर्णेश्वरी गुरुङ	Pokhara	23
11	1011	Anu Shruti Bogati^[13]	अनु श्रुति बोगटी	Kathmandu	24
12	1012	Chanel Shrestha^[13]	च्यानल श्रेष्ठ	Lalitpur	24
14	1014	Prema Lamgade^[13]	प्रेमा लामगडे	Bhairahawa	23
15	1015	Pooja Bhagat^[13]	पुजा भगत	Mahottari	26
16	1016	Sabina Malla^[13]	सबिना मल्ल	Lalitpur	23
17	1017	Rojina Kafle^[13]	रोजिना काफ्ले	Tehrathum	23
18	1018	Garima Ghimire^[13]	गरिमा घिमिरे	Biratnagar	20
19	1019	Palistha Bajracharya^[13]	पलिष्ट बज्राचार्य	Kathmandu	22
20	1020	Amisha Basnet^[13]	अमिषा बस्नेत	Jhapa	24
21	1021	Sanskriti Karki Chhetri^[13]	संस्कृति कार्की क्षेत्री	Jhapa	20
23	1023	Trishna Baniya^[13]	तृष्णा बानिया	Kathmandu	22
24	1024	Sudina Thapa Magar^[13]	सुदिना थापा मगर	Kathmandu	18
25	1025	Buddhisara Sunar^[13]	बुद्धसार सुनार	Adelaide, Australia	27
26	1026	Puja Paudel^[13]	पुजा पौडेल	Pokhara	20
27	1027	Jane Dipika Garrett^[13]	जेन दीपिका ग्यारेट	Kathmandu	22
28	1028	Gajal Karn^[13]	गजल कर्ण	Janakpur	25
29	1029	Manita Paswan^[13]	मनिता पासवान	Nawalpur	26
30	1030	Soniya Ramdam^[13]	सोनिया रामदम	Myagdi	19
31	1031	Sushma RL Shahi^[13]	सुष्मा राज्यलक्ष्मी शाह	Dang	23
33	1033	Abhilasha Lamsal^[13]	अभिलाषा लम्साल	Lalitpur	28
34	1034	Ojaswi Joshi^[13]	ओजस्वी जोशी	Bhaktapur	25
36	1036	Alista Subedi^[13]	एलिस्टा सुवेदी	Kathmandu	24
37	1037	Mausami Shrestha^[13]	मौसमी श्रेष्ठ	Biratnagar	28

Top 37 Preliminary

Number	MUN Number	Candidate		Hometown	Age	Placement
		Romanized name	Nepali name
1	1001	Smarika Aryal^[12]	स्मरिका अर्याल	Kathmandu		Eliminated
2	1002	Sonika Thapa Magar^[12]	सोनिका थापा मगर	Dipayal Silgadhi
9	1009	Sreya Belbase^[12]	श्रेया बेलबासे	New York, USA
13	1013	Nilam Dhungana^[12]	निलम ढुंगाना	Bardibas	22
22	1022	Prathana Shrestha^[12]	प्राथना श्रेष्ठ	Kathmandu
32	1032	Ruhi Akhtar^[12]	रुही अख्तर
35	1035	Pranju KC^[12]	प्रञ्जु क्षत्रिय क्षेत्री	Lalitpur

Crossovers and returnees

Contestants who previously competed in previous editions of Miss Universe Nepal and other local and international beauty pageants with their respective placements:

City pageants Face of Janakpur 2023: Gajal Karn (WINNER)

National pageants Miss Universe Nepal 2022: Sabina Chaudhary (Top 40) 2022: Nilam Dhungana (Top 61) Miss Supranational Nepal 2023: Sarosy Neupane (1st Runner-up)^[14] Miss Nation Nepal 2023: Gajal Karn (WINNER) Miss Diamond Nepal 2021: Sarosy Neupane (WINNER)^[15] Miss Asia Nepal 2018: Prapti Khadka (Top 10) Miss Princess Nepal 2012: Prapti Khadka (Top 5)

References

1. "Jane Dipika Garrett Crowned the "Asian Paints Miss Universe Nepal 2023"". Nepal Infrastructure. September 11, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
2. @mun_missuniversenepal (June 14, 2023). "Save the date! 💫 Entries are opening for Miss Universe Nepal 2023 tomorrow! Submit your application via the "Khalti" app or explore www.missuniversenp.com for more details". Retrieved July 10, 2023 – via Instagram.
3. @mun_missuniversenepal (August 3, 2023). "👑 Calling all extraordinary women! 👑 Miss Universe Nepal 2023 registration is OPEN! 🌟". Retrieved August 4, 2023 – via Instagram.
4. "Married, divorce, mother, pregnant can participate in Miss Universe Nepal". The Rising Nepal. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
5. "Top 30 Quarterfinalists Announcement". Instagram. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
6. "Top 30 Question and Answer Competition". Instagram. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
7. "Top 30 Swimsuit Competition". Instagram. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
8. "Top 20 Semifinalists Announcement". Instagram. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
9. "'एसियन पेन्ट्स मिस युनिभर्स नेपाल २०२३' का २२ जना अन्तिम प्रतिस्पर्धीहरू सार्वजनिक". Bikash News (in Nepali). Retrieved August 19, 2023.
10. "Miss Universe 2023: Miss Nepal Jane Dipika Garrett scripts History To Become The First Plus-Size model". ZOOM. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
11. "Miss Universe 2023 Top 20 Includes Miss India, Miss Pakistan and Miss Nepal". Harpers Bazaar Arabia. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
12. "QUALIFIERS - Miss Universe Nepal 2023". Instagram. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
13. "Top 30 - Miss Universe Nepal 2023". Instagram. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
14. "Get to know about Mister and Miss National Nepal 2023 Delegates". Pageant Empress. May 1, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
15. "Thank you so much for helping me to get the crown of Miss Diamond Nepal 2021". Facebook. March 11, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.

External links

•  Nepal portal

•   Media related to Miss Universe Nepal at Wikimedia Commons