'The ones that believed when I didn't': The people behind Shanti Pereira's historic Asian Games triumph

After becoming the first woman to win the Asian Games 200m twice, Shanti Pereira paid tribute to the people who believed in her through setbacks and self-doubt.

Shanti Pereira's fiance Tan Zong Yang, her parents Clarence and Jeet Pereira, her aunt Belinda and sister Valerie Pereira. (Photo: CNA/Matthew Mohan)

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NAGOYA, Japan: In the days and weeks leading up to Shanti Pereira's 200m Asian Games final, Clarence and Jeet Pereira had trouble sleeping.

Jangling nerves were nothing new; they often felt them before their daughter's meets. But this time around, things felt different.

"After the 100m , we saw the Chinese girl (Chen Yujie win) and we became even more nervous," Clarence told CNA. "But the 200m and the 100m are different."

"In the beginning, we were very nervous, that's how we always feel," added Jeet. "But we just believed in her that she would make it."

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less And, not for the first time, mum was right. Pereira successfully defended her Asian Games 200m title on Sunday (Sep 27), becoming the first woman to win the event twice. And fittingly, the athlete she beat to make history was China's Chen Yujie, who had denied her 100m gold just two days earlier. But after victory in her pet event, Pereira's thoughts quickly turned to those who had helped her get there. "They've just been part of this amazing journey. They are the ones that believed when I didn't," Pereira told reporters. "I really have them to thank for just growing that resilience in me."

And, not for the first time, mum was right.

Pereira successfully defended her Asian Games 200m title on Sunday (Sep 27), becoming the first woman to win the event twice.

And fittingly, the athlete she beat to make history was China's Chen Yujie, who had denied her 100m gold just two days earlier.

But after victory in her pet event, Pereira's thoughts quickly turned to those who had helped her get there.

"They've just been part of this amazing journey. They are the ones that believed when I didn't," Pereira told reporters.

Shanti Pereira takes gold in Nagoya on Sep 27, 2026, becoming the first two-time winner in the women's 200m at the Asian Games. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)

"PART OF YOUR STORY"

After making history, Pereira was quick to thank her coach, Luis Cunha, and her family.

"I have everyone to thank. My wonderful fiance, he's such a big part of my journey," she said of Tan Zong Yang, a former national 400m runner.

"He makes time to train with me ... He trains with me whenever he can, he just wants to push me. The fact that he just does that is so incredible."

There were tears in Tan's eyes when he watched Pereira storm to victory.

"She held her nerve and pulled away at the end," he told CNA. "It was just amazing to see that."

Pereira's journey since her first Asian Games 200m title in 2023 has not been without setbacks.

A fibula stress injury at the start of 2024 disrupted her preparation for the Paris Olympics, where she did not advance past the heats in the 100m and 200m.

But Pereira believes those experiences have changed her.

"(My younger self) wouldn't even believe the kind of person she grew into," said Pereira. "She used to be so scared of everything - scared of her competitors - and I really let the pressure get to me last time. I'm very proud of the person I've become."

Getting to this point, she added, took plenty of support.

"It took a lot to get here, it took a lot of help, so many people," Pereira said.

"Every time when I have a setback, my parents will be like: 'This is a part of your story; it's about how you come back from it that will show how strong you are.' I really took that with me."

For Clarence and Jeet, that has also meant knowing when to take the pressure off.

"We told her: 'Just enjoy yourself.' She's matured; she handles herself very well," said Clarence.

"Of course, we want her to make it. But whatever it is, we still support her," added Jeet.

Tan has seen that change too, saying Pereira has learnt how to "soak up and enjoy the pressure".

"Great athletes always enjoy the pressure, that's why she's doing well," he said.

Pereira's training and competition schedule also means considerable time away from home.

"When she's away for long stretches, I miss her a lot, but she's got to do what she's got to do," said Tan, who was previously also coached by Cunha. "As long as she comes home happy, I'm happy."

Shanti Pereira celebrates after defending her 200m Asian Games crown in Nagoya on Sep 27, 2026 (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)

A "LIGHTHOUSE" FOR HIS ATHLETES

Another major figure in Pereira's journey has been Cunha, her long-time coach and a former sprinter who competed at the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympics.

"He gave me the ability to just dream and believe," Pereira said. "I owe everything to him."

For his part, Cunha described his role as that of a "lighthouse".

"I'm very satisfied that I'm in a process of helping her, and she's in a position where she can really do things that touch the heart of so many people in Singapore," he said. "She doesn't run just for herself."

Tan, who also trained under Cunha, said Pereira was in "very good hands".

"They trust each other a lot," he added.

Cunha is not always in the stadium when Pereira races, often watching from the practice track.

But on Sunday, she wanted him there.

Cunha recalled her telling him: "I want you to witness something special."

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成为首位两次赢得亚运会女子200米冠军的选手后，珊蒂·佩雷拉向那些在她遭遇挫折和自我怀疑时仍然相信她的人致敬。

Shanti Pereira的未婚夫Tan Zong Yang，她的父母Clarence和Jeet Pereira，她的姑姑Belinda和妹妹Valerie Pereira。（图片：CNA/Matthew Mohan）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

日本名古屋：在珊蒂·佩雷拉参加亚运会200米决赛前的几天和几周里，克拉伦斯和吉特·佩雷拉都难以入睡。

紧张不安对​​他们来说并不陌生；女儿比赛前他们经常会有这种感觉。但这一次，感觉却截然不同。

“100米比赛结束后，我们看到中国选手（陈雨洁）获胜，我们更加紧张了，”克拉伦斯告诉中央社。“但200米和100米比赛不一样。”

“一开始我们非常紧张，我们一直都是这样，”吉特补充道。“但我们始终相信她能成功。”

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小谜题，大脑筋急转弯 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少 而且，妈妈说的又一次是对的。佩雷拉在周日（9月27日）成功卫冕亚运会女子200米冠军，成为首位两次赢得该项目冠军的女子选手。巧合的是，她击败的正是中国选手陈宇洁，后者两天前刚刚在女子100米比赛中击败了她，夺得金牌。但在赢得​​自己最擅长的项目后，佩雷拉的思绪很快转向了那些帮助她走到今天的人。“他们一直是这段奇妙旅程的一部分。在我自己都不相信的时候，是他们相信我，”佩雷拉告诉记者。“我真的要感谢他们，是他们培养了我的韧性。”

而且，妈妈说的也不是第一次了，她是对的。

佩雷拉于周日（9月27日）成功卫冕亚运会女子200米冠军，成为首位两次赢得该项目冠军的女子运动员。

颇具讽刺意味的是，她击败的创造历史的运动员正是中国的陈宇杰，而就在两天前，陈宇杰还曾与她争夺100米金牌。

但在她最擅长的比赛中获胜后，佩雷拉很快就想到了那些帮助她取得胜利的人。

“他们一直是这段奇妙旅程的一部分。在我自己都不相信的时候，是他们相信我，”佩雷拉告诉记者。

2026年9月27日，珊蒂·佩雷拉在名古屋亚运会上夺得女子200米金牌，成为亚运会历史上首位两度夺得该项目冠军的选手。（图片：中央社/伍文杰）

“你故事的一部分”

创造历史之后，佩雷拉迅速感谢了她的教练路易斯·库尼亚和她的家人。

“我要感谢所有人。我出色的未婚夫，他是我人生旅程中非常重要的一部分，”她谈到前国家400米跑运动员谭宗阳时说道。

“他会抽出时间和我一起训练……只要有时间他就会和我一起训练，他就是想督促我进步。他能做到这一点真是太不可思议了。”

当谭看到佩雷拉一路高歌猛进最终获胜时，他的眼中噙满了泪水。

“她最后沉着冷静地挣脱了，”他告诉CNA。“这真是太不可思议了。”

自 2023 年首次获得亚运会 200 米冠军以来，佩雷拉的职业生涯并非一帆风顺。

2024 年初的腓骨应力性损伤打乱了她备战巴黎奥运会的计划，她在 100 米和 200 米比赛中均未能晋级预赛。

但佩雷拉认为这些经历改变了她。

“（年轻时的我）肯定不敢相信自己会变成现在这样的人，”佩雷拉说。“我以前总是害怕一切——害怕我的竞争对手——上次我真的被压力压垮了。我为现在的自己感到非常自豪。”

她补充说，走到今天这一步，离不开各方的支持。

佩雷拉说：“走到今天这一步，我们付出了很多努力，得到了很多人的帮助。”

“每次我遇到挫折，我的父母都会说：‘这是你人生故事的一部分；重要的是你如何从中走出来，这才能展现你的坚强。’我一直把这句话铭记于心。”

对克拉伦斯和吉特来说，这也意味着要懂得何时放松压力。

克拉伦斯说：“我们告诉她：‘尽情享受吧。’她成熟了，处理得很好。”

“我们当然希望她成功。但无论结果如何，我们都会支持她，”吉特补充道。

Tan也看到了这种变化，他说佩雷拉已经学会了如何“承受和享受压力”。

“伟大的运动员总是享受压力，这就是她表现出色的原因，”他说。

佩雷拉的训练和比赛日程也意味着他将有相当长的时间远离家乡。

“她长时间不在家的时候，我很想念她，但她必须做她该做的事，”谭说道，她之前也曾接受过库尼亚的指导。“只要她回家开心，我就开心。”

2026年9月27日，珊蒂·佩雷拉在名古屋亚运会上卫冕女子200米冠军后庆祝胜利（图片：CNA/Wallace Woon）

对他的运动员来说，他就像一座“灯塔”。

佩雷拉成长历程中的另一位重要人物是库尼亚，他是佩雷拉的长期教练，也是一名曾参加过 1988 年、1992 年和 1996 年奥运会的短跑运动员。

“他让我拥有了梦想和信念，”佩雷拉说。“我的一切都归功于他。”

库尼亚则将自己的角色比作“灯塔”。

“我非常欣慰能够帮助她，她现在所处的位置让她能够真正做一些感动新加坡许多人的事情，”他说。“她参选并非只为自己。”

曾接受库尼亚训练的谭表示，佩雷拉“得到了很好的照顾”。

“他们彼此非常信任，”他补充道。

库尼亚并非总能在佩雷拉比赛时出现在体育场内，他经常在练习赛道上观看比赛。

但星期天，她希望他能到场。

库尼亚回忆说，她曾对他说：“我想让你见证一些特别的事情。”

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