I love that people follow my journey: Shanti Pereira readies for Asian Games title defence

NAGOYA – Shanti Pereira is as quickly recognised on the street as she is swift on the track.

Whether she is in a shopping mall or having a meal, people from all walks of life have approached her for a chat or photos, a reflection of her popularity beyond the athletics community.

While Pereira – the fastest woman in the region – never expected the attention, she welcomes it and sees it as a sign of the sport’s growing profile in Singapore.

Winning a historic women’s 200m title at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023 – which ended Singapore’s 49-year wait for a gold medal at the event – has undoubtedly fuelled that growth.

“Doing a result like that on a continental stage is naturally just different than the regional stage because your competitors include China, Japan, all these powerhouses,” said Pereira in an interview with The Straits Times in August.

“I love that people are following my journey and the journeys of other people in athletics as well, so it just made such a significant change to how people view athletics in Singapore.”

Being in the spotlight is not new to her.

She was just 16 when she became the first female sprinter to clock sub-12 seconds in the 100m.

Singapore Athletics had then earmarked her as a future sprint queen of South-east Asia, but Pereira has gone one step further and established herself on the continental stage.

Her resume includes six SEA Games golds, including a historic double-double at the 2023 and 2025 editions, alongside two gold and two silver medals at the Asian championships.

While her accomplishments have catapulted her into the limelight, a part of Pereira still enjoys being under the radar, especially on the track.

The 30-year-old said: “I’m always excited to put Singapore on the map wherever I go.

“I love the fact when people have no idea who this Singaporean girl is, it’s such a cool position to be in and it gives me a lot of motivation to just be with all these fast girls.”

Apart from shining at the Asian level, Pereira has also held her own in world-class fields.

At the 2023 World Athletics Championships, she qualified for the semi-finals in a national record time of 22.57sec.

In August, she made the 200m final at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games to become the first Singaporean to feature in an individual track final at the event.

In Scotland she registered season’s bests in both the 100m (11.24) and 200m (22.78), matching the latter at the Oman Athletics Grand Prix weeks later.

These are also her fastest times in these events in three years, as she endured a tough spell after sustaining a stress injury in her right fibula in 2024.

On the Commonwealth Games, Pereira said: “It was really significant just because of the injuries I’ve faced in the past few years and just having to come back from that.

“It was also a way to prepare for the biggest goal of the year, the Asian Games, so what I did there was a great confidence boost and it shows that we’re on the right track.”

As she kicks off her Asian Games campaign on Sept 24 in the 100m heats, Pereira’s recent form bodes well for her title defence.

Her 22.78sec is the continent’s leading time for the 200m in 2026, with Japan’s Abigeirufuka Ido (22.81sec) and China’s reigning Asian champion Chen Yujie (22.84sec) in close pursuit.

In the 100m, she is ranked fifth, with Chen holding the Asia-leading time of 11.08sec.

At the Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Pereira will be chasing history.

While five male sprinters have attained back-to-back 200m titles at the Asian Games since they started in 1951, no female sprinter has achieved the feat.

Apart from Pereira, only two other Singaporeans – Chee Swee Lee (400m) and Ng Liang Chiang (110m hurdles) – have stood atop the podium at the Asiad, but neither won more than one gold.

Returning as the titleholder brings new pressure for Pereira, who is not shying away from it.

She said: “It’s a world of a difference because in 2023, I didn’t have that pressure to defend so that is always different and requires a different set of preparations to stay level-headed and sharp for whatever happens.

“I’m also one of the oldest in a lot of the fields. But for the longest of times in the history of sport, defending champions are constantly having to see younger people come up and run super fast times and they have to be able to deal with that.”

In Nagoya, Singapore will be represented by an athletics contingent of 23, which also includes SEA Games medallists Marc Louis (sprints), hurdler Ang Chen Xiang, triple jumper Gabriel Lee and high jumper Kampton Kam.

While Pereira’s coach Luis Cunha believes that she is ready for the challenge, he noted that there are other athletes who are as eager to achieve the same goal.

He praised Pereira’s dedication to her craft, crediting a holistic high-performance approach that focuses not only on physical preparation, but also things like recovery, nutrition and sleep quality, for transforming her into one of Asia’s best.

Noting his charge’s ability to inspire others, the Portuguese said: “She is admired not only for winning medals or breaking records, but also for the way she has handled adversity, pressure, setbacks, and expectations throughout her career.”

He added: “Her journey resonates deeply because it reflects struggles that many people experience in life – moments of doubt, setbacks, reinvention, and perseverance.”

As she eyes history in Japan, Pereira is also eyeing another milestone at the 2029 SEA Games in Singapore.

It was where she won her first SEA Games 200m gold, which ended Singapore’s 42-year wait for a sprint title at the regional meet, and laid the foundation for her success.

She added: “It would be pretty sick to be able to run in the stadium again because that was the first time when I really came on the scene and won that first SEA Games gold so it would be pretty iconic.”

• Dive into all the sporting action and trends in Singapore with ST’s weekly newsletter.