'I never thought I'd be here': Unbridled joy for Singapore's Shanti Pereira after 200m Asian Games triumph
Shanti Pereira clocked 23.03s at the Asiad, taking home Singapore’s first athletics gold medal since 1974.
Singapore sprinter Shanti Pereira celebrating her 200m final win at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Oct 2, 2023. (Photo: SNOC/Kong Chong Yew)
SINGAPORE: "Give me five minutes," newly minted Asian Games gold medallist Shanti Pereira told volunteers in Mandarin.
"There are a lot of things I would like to say. I won!"
Minutes earlier, Singapore's sprint queen clocked 23.03s to win the women’s 200m final at the Asian Games.
China's Li Yuting took the silver with 23.28s and Bahrain's Edidiong Ofonime Odiong came third at 23.48s. Odiong's compatriot, Salwa Eid Naser, was disqualified for a false start.
This was Singapore’s first athletics gold medal since 1974 when Chee Swee Lee won the women’s 400m.
Speaking to reporters in the mixed zone, Pereira fought back tears.
"What a season it's been. So crazy," she said. "I can't really describe how I am feeling right now. I just feel so much joy."
On Saturday, Pereira ended Singapore's nearly 50-year wait for an Asiad track and field medal, after she clinched a silver in the women’s 100m.
Pereira, whose 200m personal best stands at 22.57s, then topped all three heats for the event the next day, with a time of 23.14s.
This was her first Asian Games 200m final. At the last edition in 2018, she did not advance past the semi-finals.
"I immediately teared up (after the race) because it means a lot, it really means a lot. I never thought I'd be here, but I am," she said.
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
The Singaporean has overcome much to get to where she is today.
She first burst into the nation's consciousness at the 2015 Southeast Asian 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 SEA Games sprint event.
But with it came the enormity of expectations. That coupled with injuries meant that some wrote Pereira off over the next few years.
The negativity ate her up, added Pereira. It got to the point that there were times when she was no longer excited to compete or even train. Instead, what she felt was fear.
But she never gave up.
"No matter what down I had, I just kept going I guess, because I knew this is what I wanted to do, this is what I love to do, to hopefully one day be in this kind of position," she said.
"This exact position, never thought about it ... but I've always dreamed of it, and I'm here and I'm living it. It has been amazing."
With support from her family and the guidance of coach Luis Cunha, she bounced back at the 2022 SEA Games, clinching gold in the 200m and silver in the 100m.
In May this year, Pereira became the first Singaporean woman to win both the 100m and 200m events at the same edition of the SEA Games; then followed that up with a sprint double at the Asian Athletics Championships in July.
In August, Pereira became the first Singaporean to make a World Championships semi-finals after a stellar showing in the 200m. She also met the qualifying mark for the event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Before her race, Pereira told herself that she would give it everything she had.
"Before the race, I was just like: 'I'm just going to give this everything I got, because it's my last one of the season. Yeah, just make it count'," she said.
"And when I did it, I was like: 'Yes, I made it count.'"
