'Filled with a lot of pride': Singapore's Shanti Pereira returns home after making history at Asian Games
Shanti Pereira is the first woman to retain the Asian Games 200m title.
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SINGAPORE: Singapore sprinter Shanti Pereira returned home triumphant on Thursday (Oct 1), fresh from winning two medals at the 2026 Asian Games.
A small group of supporters gathered at the arrival hall of Changi Airport Terminal 3 to welcome her and other athletes with loud cheers.
"I'm generally always happy to come home after the major Games. I'm filled with a lot of pride, a lot of honour from the results of the past week," she told reporters at the airport.
"I'm still soaking it in – maybe not all the way through – and I'm just celebrating all the success that happened last week."
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Pereira successfully defended her Asian Games 200m title on Sep 27, becoming the first woman to win the event twice. The Singaporean clocked 22.78s, matching her season's best.
Just two days before, she took silver in the 100m with a season's best time of 11.21s, just 0.01s shy of her national record. She also won silver in the event at the previous edition of the Games.
When asked about her immediate plans, she said that now that the season has ended, she would be taking a break, going on a holiday and getting married.
"I can never get used to it (the reception when she comes home) ... It always feels surreal, always feels special, I'm just thankful everyone came out," she said.
Every meet gets tougher as the sport grows more popular, with more athletes joining the sport, she added. "Every time you go for the Games, you just have to bring your A-game no matter what."
As an athlete who has been active for so long, people are always watching her, which made this competition a bit harder, needing a lot more mental preparation, she acknowledged.
"But I just took it like I'm one of these guys and I had to fight for a spot on the podium. Not just on the podium, but at the top."
Singapore sent "a very large team" to the Asian Games this year, Pereira added.
"I think a lot of people put up really good performances," she said, noting the number of records and personal bests set during this meet.
When asked about her future goals, Pereira said she had "a couple more" seasons in her, and that she has set her sights on the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Winning a gold medal at this meet was monumental, Pereira told journalists.
"It's just incredible that I've been able to achieve this and I think it speaks a lot about athletics in Singapore. We have so much more that we can do and it's just exciting to be a part of it," she added.
Gagan Velappakutty, 72, was one of those at the airport to greet Pereira.
"Shanti has proven that, with determination and with all the difficulty, she finished with a good time and a double gold. The competition was very tough," said the Sport Singapore volunteer.
Given Pereira's success, he said he has seen a surge in school participation and "that is an encouragement".
"Overall, all the athletes have done - those who went to Nagoya - they have done their best. A lot came with their personal best, and a lot achieved their own goals," he added.
"We can look forward to ... many more of our athletes coming back with good results, so this is a step in the right direction."
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