# Miss Nepal 2003

Dabur Vatika Miss Nepal 2003, the 9th Miss Nepal beauty contest, was held on September 13, 2003, at the Birendra International Conference Convention Centre in Nepal. It was won by Priti Sitoula, of Kathmandu.
The show was broadcast live by Nepal Television but suffered from minor technical glitches.
The contestants were supported by fashion designer groups INIFD, NEFT, Lakhotia and others. The event differed from previous pageants in that it featured modifications of Nepal's traditional ethnic dresses. Designs from INIFD (International Institute of Fashion Design) were judged to be better than the dresses from competing designers.
Namrata Shrestha hosted the show. The Winner of Miss Nepal 2003, Priti Sitoula, represented Nepal in the Miss World 2003 pageant in Sanya, China. The 1st runner up, Prerana Shah, represented Nepal in the Miss Asia Pacific 2003.

## Results
### Color keys

| Final results | Contestant | International pageant | International Results |
| Miss Nepal 2003 (Winner) | Kathmandu - Priti Sitoula | Miss World 2003 | Unplaced |
| 1st runner-up (Miss Asia Pacific Nepal 2003) | Kathmandu - Prerana Shah | Miss Asia Pacific 2003 | Top 10 |
| World Miss University Nepal 2003 | Lalitpur - Ayusha Shrestha | World Miss University 2003 | World Miss University 2003 |
| 2nd runner-up | Lalitpur - Numa Rai |
| Top 5 | Kathmandu – Ramani Joshi | | |
| Top 5 | Kathmandu – Rupa Upadhyay | | |

### Sub-Titles

| Award | Contestant |
| Miss Personality | Kathmandu - Prerana Shah |
| Miss Photogenic | Kathmandu - Rupa Upadhyay |
| Miss Natural Talent | Kathmandu - Rupa Upadhyay |
| Miss Best Dress | Pokhara - Sheila Rani Gurung |

## Judges

* Mrs Chhaua Sharma - Founder/ Director of Nepal College of Travel & Tourism
* Mr Narayan P. Sharma - Principal, Budhanilkantha School
* Mrs Niru Shrestha - Miss Nepal 1998
* Mrs Reetu Simha - Managing Director, Aama Group of Companies
* Mr Siddhartha SJB Rana - Chairman, Soaltee Group (P) Ltd
* Ms Sanyukta Shrestha - Managing Director, The Signature Style Boutique
* Mr Sushil Pant - Executive Director, Jurist & co (P) Ltd
* Mrs Anjan Shakya - Lecture, Padma Kanya Campus
* Mr Arun Kumar K.C - Managing Director, Cotton Comfort (P) Ltd
* Mr Diwaker Rajkarnikar - President, Nepal cancer Relief Society
* Mr Narendra Bhattarai - President, Nepal Bankers Association

## Contestants

| # | Contestants | Age | Height | Hometown | Placement |
| 1 | Saru Subedi | 21 | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | Bhaktapur | |
| 2 | Smita Pandey | 21 | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | Lalitpur | |
| 3 | Priti Sitoula | 22 | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | Kathmandu | Winner |
| 4 | Prativa Moktan | 19 | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | Kathmandu | |
| 5 | Bidisha Manandhar | 21 | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | Kathmandu | |
| 6 | Sumika Bajracharya | 20 | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | Kathmandu | |
| 7 | Ramani Joshi | 20 | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | Kathmandu | 4th Runner Up |
| 8 | Neha Singh | 23 | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | Narayani | |
| 9 | Sumitra Karmacharya | 20 | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | Bhaktapur | |
| 10 | Soni Khadka | 19 | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | Kathmandu | |
| 11 | Prerana Shah | 20 | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | Kathmandu | 1st Runner Up Miss Personality |
| 12 | Kalpana Siwakoti | 22 | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | Kathmandu | |
| 13 | Sima Gurung | 20 | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | Pokhara | |
| 14 | Sheila Rani Gurung | 19 | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | Pokhara | Miss Best Dress |
| 15 | Rupa Upadhyay | 18 | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | Kathmandu | 3rd Runner Up Miss Talent Miss Photogenic |
| 16 | Numa Rai | 20 | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | Lalitpur | 2nd Runner Up |