Shanti Pereira returns home after making history at Asian Games

SINGAPORE – For a woman used to living life in the fast lane, there is no slowing down for sprinter Shanti Pereira in the next three weeks, even when she is on her break.

A holiday has been pencilled in, while preparations for her upcoming wedding will take up much of her time.

But first, the 30-year-old would have to find space for her new Asian Games medals - a gold in the women’s 200m and a silver in the 100m - as her “Shanti shrine” at home for her silverware is out of space.

Then, it will be back to training ahead of a busy 2027 - which includes athletics’ Asian and world championships, as well as the South-east Asian Games in Malaysia - as she works towards the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Her three-week break is shorter than what she had asked for, but coach Luis Cunha hopes Pereira will enjoy it fully.

He said: “You need to be able to enjoy things like that because you cannot just think about whatever is happening next year. Now it’s time for her to celebrate and go on vacation.”

Pereira took time to bask in the pride and emotions of her homecoming after her triumphant Asian Games campaign though, as friends, family members and curious passers-by thronged the Changi Airport arrival hall in the afternoon of Oct 1 to receive her and her team from Japan.

Hugs were exchanged and garlands were handed out, as the ever-jovial Pereira patiently obliged to requests for selfies and autographs.

“(Coming back each time is) just filled with a lot of love. I can never get used to it, honestly. It always feels so surreal, it always feels special, so I’m just thankful everyone came out here,” said Pereira, who made history by retaining her 200m crown in Nagoya on Sept 27.

“I’m filled with a lot of pride, a lot of honour from the results the past week. Honestly I’m still soaking it in.”

One fan eagerly awaiting the arrival of the contingent was retiree Gagan Velappakutty.

The 72-year-old said: “(The team’s performance) is something we can be proud of... A lot them came back with personal bests. We can look forward to many more of our athletes coming back with good results, so this is a step in the right direction.”

Pereira noted that this Asiad campaign was slightly harder as she knew she was under greater scrutiny and needed “a lot more mental preparation”.

She said: “I came to a point where I really needed to just believe in myself. You go to the start line and all you can do is trust all the work that you’ve done, all the sacrifices, all the very hard days that you had to go through.”

On the way, she learnt to accept “bad days”, admitting she had been quite hard on herself for a bad meet or training session.

“But I realised... it’s not that serious because as long as I’m healthy, I have a chance to come back and try again.

“I took that with me throughout the season... All of that accumulated just built the confidence, which is exactly what you need for Games like this.”

Pereira also paid tribute to her teammates, with the team concluding their campaign in Nagoya with new national records by Vanessa Lee (women’s 10,000m) and the mixed 4x100m relay team, who broke the national mark twice en route to finishing fourth.

She said: “It’s monumental. It’s just incredible that I’ve been able to achieve this and it speaks a lot for athletics in Singapore. We have so much more that we can do, and it’s exciting to be a part of it. I’m excited to see what comes next.”

Pereira was non-committal, though, on whether she would return at the 2030 Asiad to defend her 200m crown again.

She said: “I wish I could give you an answer. I cannot. I just have to take it year by year, but who knows? Maybe.”

For now, Pereira just wants to celebrate with her loved ones, including her father, fiance and sister who greeted her at the airport.

She said: “I’m just excited to see my family again and spend time and celebrate this incredible achievement.

“It’s a team thing, I didn’t do this alone, I did this with all these people who have been supporting me for such a long time.”

Laura Chia is a journalist covering breaking news and current affairs, with an interest in sports.