Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has won back the crown she lost to Katrina Kaif last year to be named the world's sexiest Asian woman here on Thursday.
The 32-year-old actress and singer topped the top 50 list in an annual poll conducted by UK-based weekly newspaper 'Eastern Eye'. Popular TV actress Drashti Dhami, who had led the voting at one stage, narrowly missed out on the top spot to come in second. Fellow TV actress Sanaya Irani came third with last year's winner, Kaif, slipping to fourth place in the race.
"Someone once told me, sexy is what sexy does and you do it best when you are yourself. I don't know what I did to deserve this but I'll happily accept this title," said Chopra. "I am very flattered to have be named 'Eastern Eye's' Sexiest Woman once again. The fact that this is decided from a public poll across the world makes this even more special to me. Lots of love to everyone who voted and here's to always being yourself," she added.
'Eastern Eye' showbiz editor Asjad Nazir, founder of the 'Sexiest Asian' list and chair of the judging panel, described this year's No 1 as an "important international icon for India."
"Apart from being one of the most stunning women in the world, Priyanka has demonstrated she is beautiful on the inside too with important humanitarian work," said Nazir.
"She has also become a strong symbol of girl power with projects like 'Mary Kom' and represented her country admirably around the world. That is why more women than men actually voted for her this year and why she was trending across Twitter during the voting process," he added.
The A-list star beat off very tough competition from some of the most stunning women from around the world in the 11th edition of the list. The 2014 rankings have been trending heavily on social media across India and Pakistan during the voting process, with over 10 million votes cast.
The highest new entry was reality TV star Gauahar Khan at number 5 and the second highest new entry was young actress Preetika Rao (10). Other Indian television actresses who made the list included Nia Sharma (7), Asha Negi (12), Shakti Mohan (13), Surbhi Jyoti (16), Hina Khan (23) and Kritika Kamra (30).
The highest placed American was 'Anger Management' star Noureen DeWulf (15), whose parents hail from Pune in India. The highest placed Pakistani was Humaima Malick (20) and the highest placed British girl was reality TV star Jasmin Walia (32). The oldest woman in the list was 47-year-old Bollywood icon Madhuri Dixit (28).
Other notable Bollywood stars in this year's list include Deepika Padukone (6), Kareena Kapoor (8), Sonam Kapoor (9), Shraddha Kapoor (17), Alia Bhatt (24), Mahira Khan (34), Kangana Ranaut (38) , Anushka Sharma (47) and Kanika Kapoor (50).
The top 50 Sexiest Men list will be released next week.
PTI
