In the women's 100m final at Morodok Techo Stadium on May 12, the 26-year-old Singaporean athlete achieved a time of 11.41 seconds, surpassing Thailand's Supanich Poolkerd (11.58 seconds) and Vietnam's Tran Thi Nhi Yen (11.75 seconds) to win the gold medal. Before that, she also surpassed many other strong opponents and successfully defended the gold medal she won at the 31st SEA Games.
With her double medal win, Shanti Pereira became the first female athlete from Singapore to do so. Holding back tears, Pereira said after her victory: "I want to hug my coach. We made history today. It was a great moment. Finally finishing the race, I'm just glad I didn't panic even though everyone was there for me. I'm so excited."
Shanti Pereira becomes the first female athlete from Singapore to win double gold medals in the 100m and 200m distances
On May 13, Shanti Pereira returned to Singapore. Accompanying her were her father and mother, who were always present and encouraging at the 32nd SEA Games. Mr. Clarence and Mrs. Jeet could not contain their excitement when their daughter won 2 gold medals in Cambodia. However, standing in the stands, Mr. Clarence shared that sometimes they directly heard criticisms aimed at their daughter and they could only stay silent and encourage her.
“We have felt the negativity over the past few years. I don’t want to mention their names. The criticism has come from the public, from people in the local athletics community, from people who know my daughter well. Even I have heard it directly from them saying that my daughter is past her prime. I just nod my head and say nothing. Let my daughter’s legs do the talking,” he said, choking up.
Standing next to her, Mrs. Jeet also added: “The most important thing is that my child did not give up. No matter what people say about her, her training style or method has not changed. Shanti Pereira still continues and says that she will persevere and continue. We are always there to support Shanti Pereira no matter what her journey is and will take her anywhere.”
Shanti Pereira's father and mother always watch her from the stands.
Courtesy of Clarence Pereira
Shanti Pereira received the Sports Excellence (Spex) scholarship in 2016 but was no longer awarded it in 2018 due to lack of outstanding achievements. After her shocking victory in the 200m event at the 32nd SEA Games, the Singaporean athlete was awarded the Spex scholarship again.
“She lost her scholarship, it was a very difficult time. We could do nothing but console her. But it was good that Shanti Pereira received great support from her sisters and brother,” added Mr. Clarence.
Shanti Pereira failed her scholarship in 2018 and was criticized as being out of date.
Despite her excitement on her return to Singapore, Jeet said that Shanti Pereira was very nervous in the run-up to the races and her daughter had been under a lot of pressure over the past few days. The Singaporean athlete is still looking for tournaments and points to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics and her first target will be the Asian Games.
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