'Legs do the talking': Sprinter Shanti Pereira's parents proud of how she overcame adversity and won

PHNOM PENH: There were days when they watched their daughter grapple with negativity, expectations and pressure.

She struggled. But she did not wilt, did not bend, and did not break.

And on Friday (May 12), Clarence and Jeet Pereira watched on proudly from the stands at the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as Shanti made history.

The 26-year-old took gold in athletics' blue riband event, becoming the first Singaporean woman to achieve the sprint double - 100m and 200m - at the same edition of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

She clocked 11.41s, ahead of Thailand's Supanich Poolkerd in 11.58s and Thi Nhi Yen Tran of Vietnam in 11.75s.

"We were all looking forward to her to getting the gold in the 100m," Jeet told CNA. "Knowing the strength that she has, she's capable. We're very proud of her because of the passion she has, and the journey she went through. We can see the changes in her."

'I'M NOT QUITTING'

Shanti first burst into the nation's consciousness at the 2015 Games when she took gold in the 200m, clocked a personal best and set a new national record. Her win also ended a 42-year gold medal drought for Singapore in a Games sprint event.

But with it came the enormity of expectations.

“It created a lot of pressure and I feel like I didn't have the experience to cope with it yet,” she told CNA previously.

The 2017 SEA Games would end in tears for Pereira, as she finished with a pair of bronzes in the 100m and 200m.

Then came two injuries in 2018, before another two third-place finishes at the 2019 Games.

"Physically for the longest time, I was there. I (felt I) could do a PB (personal best), NR (national record) and all that but mentally I wasn't there," she said.

"There was a lot of self-doubt that kind of grew as the years went by. Just because it was like - again another season I couldn't get a PB, and it just continued and continued and continued."

Jeet and Clarence witnessed first-hand how the negativity of others affected Shanti, especially in the lead up to the 2021 Hanoi Games.

"(There was once) when she came home last year, she was very down," said Jeet. "She went through a lot (with) what people were saying ... she was very affected by it, really affected."

But Shanti refused to give up. "She said: 'I'm not quitting. No matter what I'm not quitting,'" recalled her mother. 

"There's nothing you can do," added Clarence. "Except (let) the legs do the talking."

Months later at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam, Shanti would clinch gold in the women's 200m and a silver in the shorter sprint. 

There were tears in not just her eyes, but her parents' as well.

"She's very strong-minded. She doesn't express very much when she comes home. But when she is ready to talk, she will share what she goes through," said Jeet. "What we usually tell her is that people will say things, you can't stop them. But it's how you as an individual ... want to continue with it."

RUNNING FREE

Coming into the 32nd SEA Games, Shanti was in the form of her life, breaking record after record.

Last month, she ran a 22.89 in the 200m at the Australian Track and Field Open - setting the fastest time by an Asian woman this year. Incredibly, that was her third national record in as many days. 

A day earlier at the same meet in Brisbane, she also became Asia's second fastest woman in the 100m, clocking a national record of 11.37s.

"Now with the full-time training ... especially when she went to Brisbane and New Zealand, I think she felt that the change was very helpful to her. She became very, very strong ... I think it was a learning step for her," said Jeet.

Older sisters Valerie and Shobi were also "fantastic", Clarence added. "They are very, very bonded," said his wife.

On Tuesday (May 9), Pereira won gold in the women's 200m final in Cambodia, smashing the national and meet records. She clocked a time of 22.69s to retain her title from the last SEA Games.

And then came the latest victory on Friday.

"Hanoi was different, in Hanoi we cried. We teared ... I knew why she cried," said Clarence. But with Shanti's form, her parents knew that if she kept her feet on the ground, a cool head, and helped on by her support team, she would have a chance in Phnom Penh.

"She did it, I'm very proud," beamed Clarence. 

Newly inked on Shanti's bicep is a sparrow flapping its wings. To Southeast Asia's top sprinter, the tattoo represents something important. Freedom.

"I've stopped caring what other people are doing, what other people are saying," she told reporters after the race. "(I'm) feeling free." 

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