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

Shanti Pereira comes into the 2026 Asian Games as the 200m defending champion.

Published Sep 23, 2026, 05:31 PM

Updated Sep 24, 2026, 06:34 AM

Shanti Pereira, Singapore's sprint queen, is ready to defend her 200m Asian Games title, having made history by ending Singapore's 49-year gold medal drought in 2023.

She overcame a stress injury in 2024 and performed strongly at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, setting continent-leading times and boosting her confidence.

Pereira faces new pressure as a defending champion but aims to inspire others, with plans to compete at the 2029 SEA Games on home soil.

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, Pereira registered season’s bests in both the 100m (11.24sec) and 200m (22.81sec), before improving on the latter with a 22.78sec effort 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.”

Shanti Pereira made history at the 2026 Commonwealth Games by becoming the first Singaporean to feature in an individual track final at the quadrennial event. PHOTO: SPEXSG/ANDY CHUA

Shanti Pereira made history at the 2026 Commonwealth Games by becoming the first Singaporean to feature in an individual track final at the quadrennial event.

PHOTO: SPEXSG/ANDY CHUA

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 title-holder 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.”

Shanti Pereira (middle) ended Singapore’s 49-year wait for an athletics gold medal when she won the 200m event in 2023. PHOTO: ST FILE

Shanti Pereira (middle) ended Singapore’s 49-year wait for an athletics gold medal when she won the 200m event in 2023.

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.”

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Kimberly Kwek joined The Straits Times in 2019 as a sports journalist and has since covered a wide array of sports, including golf and sailing.

珊蒂·佩雷拉将以女子200米卫冕冠军的身份参加2026年亚运会。

发布于 2026 年 9 月 23 日下午 5:31

更新于2026年9月24日上午6:34

新加坡短跑女王珊蒂·佩雷拉准备卫冕亚运会200米冠军，她创造了历史，结束了新加坡49年来在亚运会上无缘金牌的局面。

她在 2024 年克服了应力性损伤，并在 2026 年英联邦运动会上表现出色，创造了洲际领先成绩，增强了自信心。

作为卫冕冠军，佩雷拉面临着新的压力，但他希望激励其他人，并计划参加 2029 年在本土举行的东南亚运动会。

名古屋——珊蒂·佩雷拉在街上和在赛道上一样，很快就能被人认出来。

无论是在购物中心还是在餐厅用餐，各行各业的人都会上前与她聊天或合影，这反映出她在体育界之外也拥有很高的人气。

佩雷拉是该地区速度最快的女性，虽然她从未预料到会受到如此关注，但她对此表示欢迎，并认为这是这项运动在新加坡日益受到关注的标志。

2023 年杭州亚运会上，新加坡女子 200 米夺得历史性冠军，结束了新加坡在该赛事中 49 年未获得金牌的局面，这无疑推动了新加坡田径运动的发展。

佩雷拉在8月份接受《海峡时报》采访时表示：“在洲际赛场上取得这样的成绩，自然与在区域赛场上有所不同，因为你的竞争对手包括中国、日本以及所有这些强国。”

“我很高兴大家关注我以及其他运动员的田径生涯，这极大地改变了新加坡人对田径运动的看法。”

对她来说，成为公众焦点并不陌生。

她年仅 16 岁时就成为第一个百米赛跑成绩突破 12 秒的女子短跑运动员。

当时新加坡田径协会已将她视为东南亚未来的短跑女王，但佩雷拉更进一步，在洲际舞台上确立了自己的地位。

她的履历包括六枚东南亚运动会金牌，其中包括在 2023 年和 2025 年两届东南亚运动会上的历史性双冠王，以及在亚洲锦标赛上获得的两枚金牌和两枚银牌。

虽然她的成就让她一举成名，但佩雷拉内心深处仍然享受低调的生活，尤其是在赛道上。

这位30岁的年轻人说：“无论我走到哪里，我都很高兴能让新加坡闻名于世。”

“我喜欢人们不知道我这个新加坡女孩是谁的感觉，这种感觉太棒了，也给了我很大的动力去和这些速度飞快的女孩们在一起。”

除了在亚洲赛场上大放异彩外，佩雷拉在世界级赛场上也毫不逊色。

在 2023 年世界田径锦标赛上，她以 22.57 秒的全国纪录成绩晋级半决赛。

8 月，她在格拉斯哥英联邦运动会上晋级 200 米决赛，成为首位在该赛事中进入个人田径决赛的新加坡选手。

在苏格兰，佩雷拉在 100 米（11.24 秒）和 200 米（22.81 秒）比赛中都创造了赛季最佳成绩，几周后在阿曼田径大奖赛上，他又以 22.78 秒的成绩提高了 200 米的成绩。

这也是她三年来在这些赛事中取得的最快成绩，因为她在 2024 年右腓骨受伤后经历了一段艰难时期。

佩雷拉谈到英联邦运动会时说：“这对我来说意义非凡，因为我在过去几年里遭遇了伤病，不得不从伤病中恢复过来。”

“这也是为今年最重要的目标——亚运会做准备的一种方式，所以我在那里的表现极大地增强了我的信心，也表明我们走在正确的道路上。”

在2026年英联邦运动会上，珊蒂·佩雷拉创造了历史，成为首位晋级该项四年一度的赛事个人田径决赛的新加坡运动员。照片：SPEXSG/ANDY CHUA

Shanti Pereira 在 2026 年英联邦运动会上创造了历史，成为首位在该四年一度的赛事中进入个人田径决赛的新加坡运动员。

照片：SPEXSG/ANDY CHUA

佩雷拉将于9月24日参加亚运会女子100米预赛，开启她的亚运会征程。她近期的良好状态预示着她有望卫冕。

她的 22.78 秒成绩是 2026 年亚洲女子 200 米比赛的领先成绩，日本选手井户阿比吉鲁福卡（22.81 秒）和中国现任亚洲冠军陈宇杰（22.84 秒）紧随其后。

在女子100米比赛中，她排名第五，陈巍保持着亚洲最佳成绩11.08秒。

在帕洛玛瑞穗体育场，佩雷拉将追逐历史。

自 1951 年亚运会创办以来，已有五名男子短跑运动员在亚运会 200 米比赛中连续两年获得冠军，但还没有女子短跑运动员取得过这样的成绩。

除了佩雷拉之外，只有另外两名新加坡人——徐瑞丽（400米）和吴良强（110米栏）——曾登上亚运会的最高领奖台，但他们两人都只获得过一枚金牌。

以卫冕冠军身份回归给佩雷拉带来了新的压力，但他并没有回避这种压力。

她说：“这完全是两码事，因为在 2023 年，我没有防守的压力，所以情况总是不同的，需要不同的准备才能保持冷静和敏锐，以应对任何可能发生的情况。

“在很多领域，我也算是年纪最大的选手之一。但在体育史上，卫冕冠军长期以来都必须面对年轻选手不断涌现并跑出超快成绩的局面，他们必须学会应对这种情况。”

2023年，珊蒂·佩雷拉（图中）赢得女子200米比赛冠军，结束了新加坡49年来在田径项目上无缘金牌的尴尬局面。（图片来源：海峡时报档案）

2023年，珊蒂·佩雷拉（中）赢得女子200米比赛，结束了新加坡49年来在田径项目上没有获得金牌的局面。

在名古屋，新加坡将派出 23 名运动员参加田径比赛，其中包括东南亚运动会奖牌获得者马克·路易斯（短跑）、跨栏运动员洪振祥、三级跳远运动员加布里埃尔·李和跳高运动员坎普顿·甘。

佩雷拉的教练路易斯·库尼亚认为她已经准备好迎接挑战，但他指出，还有其他运动员也同样渴望实现同样的目标。

他赞扬了佩雷拉对技艺的奉献精神，认为正是她采取的全面高水平训练方法，不仅注重身体准备，还注重恢复、营养和睡眠质量等因素，才使她成为亚洲最优秀的运动员之一。

这位葡萄牙人指出他所指导的运动员具有激励他人的能力，并表示：“她不仅因赢得奖牌或打破纪录而受人敬仰，还因她在整个职业生涯中应对逆境、压力、挫折和期望的方式而受人敬仰。”

他补充道：“她的经历之所以能引起人们的强烈共鸣，是因为它反映了许多人在生活中经历的挣扎——怀疑、挫折、重塑自我和坚持不懈的时刻。”

在展望日本历史的同时，佩雷拉也着眼于在 2029 年新加坡东南亚运动会上取得另一项里程碑式的成就。

正是在这里，她赢得了她的第一个东南亚运动会200米金牌，结束了新加坡在该区域赛事中42年来未获得短跑冠军的局面，并为她的成功奠定了基础。

她补充道：“如果能再次在体育场里奔跑，那感觉肯定很棒，因为那是我第一次真正崭露头角，并赢得了第一枚东南亚运动会金牌，所以那将是一件非常具有标志性意义的事情。”

通过《海峡时报》的每周新闻简报，深入了解新加坡的所有体育赛事和趋势。

金伯利·郭于 2019 年加入《海峡时报》担任体育记者，此后报道了包括高尔夫和帆船在内的各种体育项目。