Punika Kulsoontornrut

Punika Kulsoontornrut

Beauty pageant titleholder
Born	October 22, 1992 Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Measurements	Bust: 86 cm (33.9 in) Waist: 58 cm (22.8 in) Hips: 91 cm (35.8 in)
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Brown
Title(s)	Miss Universe Thailand 2013 (Unplaced) Miss Earth Thailand 2013 (Winner) Miss Earth 2013 (Miss Earth - Water) (dethroned) Miss International 2014 (2nd Runner-Up)
Major competition(s)	Miss Earth Thailand 2013

Punika Kulsoontornrut, nicknamed as Polly (Thai:พอลลี่), is a Thai beauty queen and the official representative of Thailand to the environmentally dedicated pageant, Miss Earth 2013 pageant.^[1] She won the title of Miss Earth-Water 2013,^[1][2][3] the highest title a Thai beauty queen achieved in the said beauty pageant. She shares that distinction with Watsaporn Wattanakoon, the Miss Earth-Water 2010.

Early life

According to her interview published in the Miss Earth website, Punika said that she grew up in a big family. Although her family is not rich, she is happy for she is being taken care of them and for her, that is the lesson she values the most.

Pageantry

Miss Universe Thailand

Polly decided to join the Miss Universe Thailand 2013 pageant held at Royal Paragon Hall, Siam Paragon, Bangkok, Thailand. The said pageant sends its winner to the Miss Universe Pageant. The pageant was won by Chalita Yaemwannang, from Bangkok. However, Kulsoontornrut failed to place in the pageant even in the semi-finals.^[4]

Miss Earth Thailand

In November, Punika tried her luck to join in the first edition of Miss Earth Thailand pageant by Organizer IQ Co.,Ltd. The pageant was held on November 15, 2013 at Millennium Bangkok Hilton Hotel. She won the said pageant that earned her the right to represent Thailand in Miss Earth 2013. Punika was crowned by Watsaporn Wattanakoon.^[5]

Miss Earth 2013

Even though she had a very limited time to prepare, Polly still performed very well in the 13th edition of Miss Earth. She received numerous special awards during the preliminaries. She got two gold medals for the "Most Child Friendly" award for group 3 and "Best in Resorts Wear" award.^[3][6] For the "National Costume" award, she got a bronze medal for team Asia. She also got a minor awards which were the "Miss Ever Bilena", "Gandang Ricky Reyes Award" and "Miss EB Advance" awards. Those awards are from the sponsors. Polly also became one of the Top 15 finalists for the Talent Competition segment. These made her one of the fan favorites by the pageant fans for the crown.

As the pageant concluded, Punika became the Miss Earth-Water 2013. She was crowned by the Miss Earth-Water 2011, Athena Imperial. Winning the 2nd runner up finish, Polly is the highest Asian candidate finisher in the Miss Earth 2013 pageant. Alyz Henrich was declared as the winner.^[7][8]

Dethronement

Effective on October 13, 2014, Punika Kulsoontornrut of Thailand is no longer the reigning Miss Earth Water after she was dethroned by Carousel Production for violating her contract as a titleholder.^[9][10] Her dethronement was on the ground of her joining another pageant, Miss International, during her one-year reign as Miss Earth Water 2013.

Media and environmental activism

According to the Miss Earth website, her environmental advocacy is to "believe in yourself." For that, she believes that everything can be done for mother earth to protect it. Polly also guested, together with Miss Earth 2013 Alyz Henrich and the other elemental queens, in a local cable news channel, ABS-CBN News Channel, where they were asked about the pageant and their respective advocacies.^[11]

When Polly went back to Thailand where she appeared in different shows and events. She was warmly welcomed because of her win. Polly went to Myanmar to attend a jewelry fashion show where she showed her modelling skills.

As part of her win as Miss Earth-Water, Polly went to Reunion Island to attend the finals of Miss Earth Reunion Island 2014 where she became one of the judges. She also crowned the winner, Lolita Hoarau, with the Miss Earth Reunion 2013, Christelle Abrantes.^[12] Polly also did some environmental activities there.

After her commitment in Reunion Island, Polly went to Mauritius to take part in the screenings for Miss Earth Mauritius 2014..^[13]

External links

• Punika Kulsoontornrut in Miss Earth Official Website
• Miss International 2014 Top 15 Favourites
• Punika Kulsoontornrut Photo Gallery

References

1. "Miss Earth Thailand Punika Kulsoontornrut photo". Yahoo.com. 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
2. "Alyz Henrich of Venezuela Crowned Miss Earth 2013". Beauty Pageant News. 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
3. "Miss Venezuela Alyz Henrich is Miss Earth 2013". webmagazine.net. 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
4. "Miss Universe Thailand 2013 winners". Normannorman.com. 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
5. "PUNIKA KUNSUNTORNRAT - thailand 2013". Sashfactor. 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
6. "Punika Kulsoontornrut of Thailand Wins Miss Earth 2013′s Best in Resorts Wear Special Award". Beauty Pageant News. 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
7. Blanco, Eunice (2013). "Alyz Henrich of Venezuela is Miss Earth 2013". Philippine Star. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
8. "Venezuela's Alyz Henrich wins Miss Earth 2013". MSN. 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
9. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/10/13/14/miss-earth-water-2013-dethroned
10. "Miss Earth Water 2013 Punika Kulsoontornrut dethroned". Angelopedia.com. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
11. Buenaflor, Nestor (2013). "Miss Earth 2013 Winners (Earth, Air, Water & Fire) Morning Interview with ANC TV". ANC. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
12. "Le salon international du mariage ouvre ses portes aujourd'hui". Clicanoo.re. 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
13. "เตรียมขนชุดไทยไปแจ่ม 'พอลลี่' กะเจิดที่แอฟริกาใต้". Thairath.com. 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.