Fears, tears and now pride: Shanti Pereira’s parents celebrate her gold-medal success

NAGOYA – In section 113 of the Paloma Mizuho Stadium on Sept 27, the 23 deg C cold is seeping into bodies but Clarence and Jeet Pereira could hardly care.

Clarence’s hands are tightly clasped together while his wife clutches two Singapore flags to her chest.

Their youngest daughter Shanti, 30, is racing in the women’s 200m final and two floors up in the stands, their hearts are racing, too.

Clarence, in his signature Panama hat, turns to this reporter and says: “It doesn’t get easier you know. I still feel so nervous. Every second, my heart starts to pound faster and faster.”

Jeet can only smile because at this moment, the race cannot come soon enough.

Soon, it is 7.25pm. As the electronic crack of the starter’s gun goes off, Jeet starts waving her flags while the couple, along with Jeet’s sister Belinda Cheong, bellow with all their might: “Go Shanti!”

And 22.78 seconds later, the couple are locked in an embrace, relief and joy spilling over after watching Shanti make history at the Asian Games by becoming the first woman to win back-to-back 200m titles.

Shanti spots her parents in the stands and Jeet stretches out her arms, mimicking a hug from afar. For a mother who has cheered, consoled and wiped away her daughter’s tears since she was a young runner, the gesture shows just how much they both wish to close the distance and share a real embrace.

Three minutes later, Jeet is on a video call with Shanti’s older sister Shobi and her children.

“Oh my god, she did it!”, says Shobi as Shanti’s nieces shout, “Massi (auntie in Punjabi) go fast, fast!”.

Clarence, 69, tells The Straits Times after the race: “We are very very proud, really very proud. I feel overwhelmed. She worked so hard, and she got what she deserved. For this journey, we have to thank (coach) Luis Cunha. He was so patient, so committed. Her fiance (Tan Zong Yang) as well, he is so supporting, and the family and all Singaporeans.”

Jeet, 66, adds: “Whenever she runs, I’m always emotional. We believed in her. We believe that this was her goal, and she has been really going through so much, a lot of competition, a lot of training, and both herself and her coach have acieved this success.”

“I’m so overwhelmed. I’m speechless too.”

The defending champion in the 200m, Pereira had entered this Asiad with a huge load of expectations.

The pressure can get to anyone, but Clarence, who works as an oil consultant, says Shanti told them “don’t think about it’.

Jeet, a childcare educator, says: “She said to us ‘don’t read all the Instagram and Facebook messages, put it aside’. She’s actually very cool. Over the years she has grown, became so mature. So her mindset is completely different, very positive thinking and that’s good for her.”

Her close-knit family has been cheering her on from the sidelines she was a kid competing in school meets.

The sprint queen said after her win: “They’ve (parents) just been part of this amazing journey, they’re the ones who believed when I didn’t and I really have them to thank for just growing that resilience in me.

“Every time I had a setback, my parents would say that it’s a part of my story and it’s how you come back from it, that will show how strong you are and I really took that with me everywhere I went.”

After days of hand-wringing, flag waving and screaming at the top of their lungs, the Pereiras are now finally able to sit back and relax.

Home awaits the family – which includes Shanti’s older sister Valerie, who was in the stadium, and brother Anand – and Jeet is already planning to cook up a storm to welcome their two-time Asian Games gold medallist with her favourite dishes – prawn sambal and chicken curry – when she returns.

But first, sleep beckons. “The stress, the pressure, the anguish, the anxiety. We feel it all in the stands when we watch her,” says Clarence. “We both could not sleep last night. In fact, I have not slept well for a month. Now I go back to the hotel, sure sleep.”