LookAtVietnam – Vietnamese entrants at recent international beauty contests have been criticised for poor performance because they didn’t win any titles. But is it fair to blame them?

Vo Hoang Yen at the Miss Universe 2009 in Bahamas.

After Vo Hoang Yen left Miss Universe 2009 without any title and the same for Thai Ha at the Miss Tourism International 2009 in China, many people lamented on online forums that Vietnam once again had gained nothing, was still the loser… at international pageants. They also criticised Vietnamese contestants for the way they smiled and posed, etc.

Vo Hoang Yen, the Vietnamese entrant at the Miss Universe 2009, said that it was still in the distant future for Vietnam to be a winner at Miss Universe, though she tried her best.

“My goal before the final night of Miss Universe 2009 was to show the different image of Vietnamese beauty. That is the modern and dynamic beauty,” Yen said after the pageant.

Le Diem Ly, deputy director of the Hoan Vu JS Company, which holds the right to send the Vietnamese contestant to Miss Universe 2009, said that it was regrettable that Vietnam didn’t win any prize at the contest but the Vietnamese representative was successful by appearing radiantly day after day in the Bahamas.

Pham Ngoc Ha, who represented Vietnam at the Miss Model of the World 2008, said: “Though Yen was always outstanding and cheerful, but like us (other Vietnamese entrants at international beauty contests), perhaps her advantages were not suitable to the jury’s criteria.”

Ha said that in a pageant of 80 countries, where only one is crowned, 79 countries fail.

Ha and Cao Thuy Duong, Vietnam’s contestant at the Miss International 2008, said that as representatives for Vietnam, every girl tries their best to maintain a smile on their face, though they are very tired due to the change of time, weather, cooking, and countless activities.

Ha analysed that Asian people in general and Vietnamese in particular have some disadvantages in adapting compared to European and Latin American people. Therefore, Vietnam has very a modest position on the world map of beauty. So “having no prize doesn’t mean failure,” she said.

Le Ngoc Cuong, the head of the Performance Art Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that if 100 countries participated in a pageant and only Vietnam lost — that would be a problem.

Cuong also didn’t agree with the public comments about the case of Hoang Diep, who recently won the crown of the Miss International Beauty 2009.

“If she doesn’t win the title, people complain. But when she was the winner in a pageant attracting contestants from 70 countries, they said that she was the winner in an unknown contest,” Cuong said.

He said every contest has winners and losers and luck is an important part.

“The press and the public should have sound comments and should not see that as failure and place pressure on contestants,” he said.

VietNamNet/Dat Viet