Tegan Martin is the newly crowned Miss Australia 2014 who will now compete for the upcoming Miss Universe 2014 competition at the year end. However, the title win for the Newcastle resident has been controversial as it was her third attempt to win at the Miss Australia competition. Tegan competed in the competition for Miss Australian in 2011 and 2012 but did not come out as a winner. The title went to Tegan only after struggling for the third time thus prompting response from critics and fellow contestants that the Miss Australia competition is "rigged."

According to news.com.au, there was hue and cry among various contestants after Tegan's win as they claimed to have overheard her rehearsing for the winning question before hand, backstage. The contestants claim that the competition was fixed and Tegan's win was already decided. However, Miss Australia 2013 Olivia Wells has come out in defense of Tegan and refuted the claims of any misdoing in the Miss Australia competition.

"I was so happy Tegan won, she has been one of my biggest supporters and she stood up for me when the same claims were made last year,'' Wells revealed to the Web site.

"People always find a way to pick at things and bring you down. It upsets me that people say these things. Last year it was that I must have paid the judges because I went to a private school," the outgoing beauty queen revealed.

The 21-year-old winner of the competition Tegan has also fired back at her fellow contestants saying that the contestants should "accept the defeat with grace."

"It's important to accept your defeat with grace," she said on The Today Show, according to Hearldsun.com.

"People always say it's rigged - it's pageantry. I remember last year, some of the girls were saying the same thing," the reigning Miss Australia 2014 said, according to the Web site.

Unnerved by any of the criticism, Tegan is however basking in the glory of her win as she will soon have to appear at the Miss Universe competition, where, if she wins, will succeed Gabriela Isler of Venezuela.