Singaporean Shanti Pereira celebrated winning the women’s 200m final of the 19th Asian Games track and field at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center on October 2, 2023.
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Shanti Pereira, Southeast Asia’s fastest woman, became a household name in Singapore after winning her first medal in 49 years at last year’s Asian Games, but getting there hasn’t been easy.
The 28-year-old track and field athlete, often referred to as Singapore’s sprint queen, won a gold medal in the women’s 200m and a silver in the 100m at the Asian Games.
She now sets her sights on the Paris Olympics in July and is training hard in the United States.
But it hasn’t been without numerous knockdowns so far.
Pereira told CNBC that one of the “hardest parts” of her career was a hamstring injury in 2018 that derailed her training. As a result, she failed to qualify for the Asian Games preliminaries that year.
This resulted in her losing her Sports Excellence Scholarship, and within the same week, the Yip Pin Siu Scholarship – SMU’s first full sports scholarship – was taken away from her due to her declining performance.
The next few years were a period of struggle for Pereira.
“I was so focused on what other people thought of me and comparing myself to my competition. But I realized there was absolutely no point in doing that—because these people had nothing to do with my life, my journey, and my success. ”
The turning point will occur in 2022. Three weeks before the Southeast Asian Games, she finally broke out of her downward spiral.
“I was really fed up with it and I decided I wasn’t going to feel sorry for myself anymore because it wasn’t going to help me in any way.”
Although she did not win any medals in that year’s competition, she won two gold medals at the 2023 SEA Games.
In the same year, Pereira broke the national record six times in the 100-meter dash and four times in the 200-meter dash.
Sha’Carri Richardson of the United States, Shanti Pereira of Singapore and Sherika Jackson of Jamaica during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on August 24, 2023 (Shericka Jackson) participated in the third game of the women’s 200m semifinals.
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Although these difficulties were painful and took “many, many years to overcome,” Pereira said they helped shape her into the person she is today.
“Through experiences like this, you develop character and resilience. It’s difficult, but I wouldn’t take back anything that happened because it made me who I am today and who I am today.”
“I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she added. “Track and field is a part of who I am and I just feel like I can contribute more to the sport.”
example
Pereira’s passion for sports began at the age of nine, and in 2005 she won her first two medals at her school’s annual sports day competition.
It was not until 2015 that she emerged in the regional sports world, winning the Southeast Asian Games 200m gold medal.
Today, she is an inspiration to young athletes who hope to one day achieve the same thing.
“It’s so cool that my achievements have had such an incredible impact on so many Singaporeans,” she told CNBC, stressing that it’s important for young athletes to work hard and pursue their passions.
“The best advice I can give to people who look up to me and want to do what I’m doing is to work hard and create an environment for yourself where you can train and recover properly.”
“This is not easy to do in Singapore because it is normal to juggle many different things at the same time,” she added. “But if you’re really passionate about it and you feel like you can go somewhere with it, you have to make sacrifices.”
Shanti Pereira of Singapore celebrates winning the women’s 200m track and field title during the Asian Games in Hangzhou on October 2, 2023.
William West | AFP | Getty Images
When asked who inspires her, the first name that comes to mind is Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt – “the fastest man in the world”.
“His feat was incredible. He was able to forget all the pressure he was under and perform brilliantly during the Olympics,” she said.
“You have to be very mentally strong to do that, and it’s a really crazy thing.”
2024 Paris Olympics
Pereira will remain in the United States for the next two months in an effort to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This will be her second Olympic Games after participating in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
She says being in the US provides her with the “perfect environment” to attend as many high-quality training sessions as the majority of the day revolves around training and recovery.
“Last year I had a lot of big games to prepare for but this year I only have one, which is the ideal situation and makes the training process different.”
“I’m ready, I’m excited and I’m going to do everything I can to be the best I can be,” she said, touching an Olympics tattoo near her right wrist.
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