IN PICS: Meet Nishtha Dudeja from Haryana, first Indian to win Miss Deaf Asia crown

The beauty from Haryana's industrial city of Panipat, around 85 km from New Delhi, who was born deaf did not think of herself being differently-abled and chose to take her chance in the field of beauty. /Image: Instagram

"I want to thank my parents for their consistent support who were always there to help me. Now I want to help the deprived people even at the cost of my comfort. I believe that the differently abled people don't need pity. They only deserve equal opportunities to prove themselves," news agency IANS quoted her as saying. /Image: Instagram

Nishtha Dudeja hails from the state of Haryana and is the first Indian to have won any title at the Miss Deaf World Pageant. /Image: Instagram

The beauty queen is also an accomplished tennis player and has played many AITA, ITF and Asian tour tennis tournaments. Nishtha had also participated in Deaflympics 2013 (held in Sofia, Bulgaria), World Deaf Tennis Championship 2015 (held in Nottingham, UK) and Deaflympics 2017 (held in Samsun, Turkey). /Image: Instagram

She emerged victorious after she faced tough competition from contestants from China, Thailand, Taiwan, Israel, Czech Republic, Belarus, Mexico, South Africa and other countries. /Image: Instagram

The 23-year-old beauty is a commerce graduate from Venkateshwara College, Delhi University, and presently pursuing MA in economics from Mithibai College, University of Mumbai. /Image: Instagram

Proving that disability cannot stop dreams, India’s Nishtha Dudeja won the Miss Deaf Asia 2018 title at an international pageant held in Prague recently. /Image: Instagram