Shanti Pereira, take a bow.
The Singaporean sprinter has been in sensational form this year.
After bursting across the finish line at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium on Monday, 2nd October to win the women’s 200m final, Pereira took a moment to savour the victory before turning back down the track with a Singapore flag in hand.
In a historic moment for Singapore sports, Shanti Pereira raced into the history books in the women’s 200m at the Asian Games on Monday, sealing Singapore’s first gold medal in athletics since 1974.
The 27-year-old Sprinter finished ahead of China’s Li Yuting and Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong adding a winner’s medal to silver she claimed on Saturday in the 100m.
Shanti, the Singaporean sprinter magnificently continued her record-breaking form this season by taking home a historic athletics gold for the nation, cruising to victory with a timing of 23.03sec at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium on Monday, 2nd October, which is not far off from her 200m personal best of 22.57sec.
She clocked 23.03s to beat China’s Li Yuting and Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong, becoming the first Singaporean to win an athletics gold medal at the Asian Games since 1974. China’s Li Yuting came in at second place in 23.28sec, while Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong took bronze in 23.48sec.
On Saturday, Pereira ended her country’s nearly 50-year wait for a track and field medal at the Asian Games, claiming a silver in the women’s 100m, losing out narrowly to China’s Ge Manqi by a mere 0.04 seconds.
Chee Swee Lee, who achieved this feat in the women’s 400m, at the 1974 Games in Teheran, Iran was the last Singaporean to claim this honour.
Pereira qualified for the event by finishing first in her heat on 1st October, with a timing of 23.14sec.
Shanti Pereira had never before reached the 200m final at the Asian Games, being eliminated in the semi-finals in the previous edition in 2018.
Pereira, who also won a silver medal on Saturday, was overwhelmed by emotion after her stunning victory.
She said she had never thought it was possible to achieve such a feat, and thanked her family and coach for their support.
Shanti made history in May, by becoming the first Singaporean woman to claim both the sprint titles, with victories in the 100m and 200m at the SEA Games in Cambodia in May.
She repeated the feat, following that up with a sprint double at the Asian Athletics Championships in July.
In August, she reached another milestone by matching the entry mark of 22.57sec, in her pet event, becoming the first Singaporean to advance to the semi-finals of the World Championships in the 200m.
She also secured her spot for the same event, qualifying at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
She became the first Singaporean to qualify for that event at the world meet in doing so.
Shanti Pereira received hundreds of heartfelt messages online, with Singaporeans expressing pride that they have got a champion of their own.
The Singaporean sprinter had to 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 ended a 42-year gold medal drought for Singapore in a SEA Games sprint event.
Along with it came the enormity of expectations. Some people wrote Pereira, coupled with injuries, off over the next few years.
Her coach has been instrumental in her journey. In a previous interview with CNA, Pereira said that listening to his advice and following his guidance has made a difference for her this season, but Cunha was keen to give his charge the credit.
She also met the qualifying mark for the 2024 event at the Olympics in Paris.
