Defending champion Shanti Pereira tops heats, advances to Asian Games 200m finals

NAGOYA: Defending champion Shanti Pereira was the top qualifier in the women's Asian Games 200m heats on Saturday (Sep 26), booking her spot in the final.

On a rainy evening at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, the Singaporean registered a time of 23.10s in her heat. China's Chen Yujie was the next fastest overall qualifier with a time of 23.29s.

Pereira will compete in the final on Sunday night. The top two from each heat along with the next two fastest qualifiers moved on to the final.

Speaking to reporters, the Singaporean said she had executed the race the way she wanted.

"I was really just trying to stay as relaxed as I can today ... I've got three races already in last few days," Pereira added. "I love the 200m, I think everyone knows, and I was just excited to get it going."

Earlier in the evening, Singapore' Ang Chen Xiang qualified for the 110m hurdles final after timing 13.88s.

Pereira's showing on Saturday comes a day after she retained her silver in the 100m. China's Chen won gold in a Games record time of 11.06s, while Pereira clocked a season’s best of 11.21s.

Pereira’s pet event is the 200m and her national record stands at 22.57s. 

At the Hangzhou Games, her victory was Singapore’s first athletics gold since 1974, when Chee Swee Lee won the women’s 400m.

"I know I am the defending champion, but at the same time, I'm just one of the participants that's here, and we're all fighting for the same thing," said Pereira.

"We're all giving everything we have."