'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.

Shanti Pereira and her coach Luis Cunha arriving at Changi Airport Terminal 3 after the Asian Games, Oct 1, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Alyssa Tan)

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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."

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 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 now that the season has ended, she would be going on a break and getting married. "I can never get used to it (the reception when she comes home) ... It always feels surreal, always feels special, just thank you to everyone who came out," she said.

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 now that the season has ended, she would be going on a break and getting married.

"I can never get used to it (the reception when she comes home) ... It always feels surreal, always feels special, just thank you to everyone who came out," she said.

Mr Gagan Velappakutty, a volunteer with Sport Singapore (SportSG), holding up a Singapore banner while awaiting Shanti Pereira’s arrival, Oct 1, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Alyssa Tan)

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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珊蒂·佩雷拉是第一位卫冕亚运会女子200米冠军的选手。

2026年10月1日，亚运会结束后，珊蒂·佩雷拉和她的教练路易斯·库尼亚抵达樟宜机场3号航站楼。（图片：CNA/Alyssa Tan）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：新加坡短跑运动员珊蒂·佩雷拉（Shanti Pereira）周四（10月1日）凯旋而归，她刚刚在2026年亚运会上赢得了两枚奖牌。

一小群支持者聚集在樟宜机场3号航站楼的到达大厅，用热烈的欢呼声欢迎她和其他运动员。

“我通常都很高兴能在大型赛事结束后回家。过去一周的成绩让我感到非常自豪和荣幸，”她在机场告诉记者。

“我还在慢慢体会这一切——也许还没有完全消化——但我现在正在庆祝所有的成功。”

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，脑力挑战 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 佩雷拉于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。这位新加坡选手跑出了22.78秒的成绩，追平了她的赛季最佳成绩。就在两天前，她以11.21秒的赛季最佳成绩获得女子100米银牌，仅比她的国家纪录慢了0.01秒。她还在上届亚运会上获得了该项目的银牌。当被问及近期计划时，她说赛季结束后，她将休息一段时间并结婚。“我永远也无法习惯（回家时的招待会）……这总是感觉很不真实，总是感觉很特别，感谢所有到场的人，”她说。

佩雷拉于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。这位新加坡选手跑出了22.78秒的成绩，追平了她本赛季的最佳成绩。

就在两天前，她以11.21秒的赛季最佳成绩获得女子100米银牌，仅比她的全国纪录慢了0.01秒。她还在上届奥运会的该项目中获得银牌。

当被问及近期计划时，她说现在赛季结束了，她打算休息一段时间并结婚。

“我永远也无法习惯（她回家时的场面）……这感觉总是很不真实，总是很特别，谢谢所有到场的人，”她说。

2026年10月1日，新加坡体育理事会（SportSG）志愿者加甘·维拉帕库蒂先生举着新加坡横幅，等待珊蒂·佩雷拉的到来。（图片：CNA/Alyssa Tan）

72岁的加甘·维拉帕库蒂是到机场迎接佩雷拉的人之一。

“珊蒂用实际行动证明了，凭借坚定的决心和克服重重困难，她最终取得了优异的成绩，并斩获两枚金牌。比赛竞争非常激烈，”新加坡体育理事会的志愿者说道。

鉴于佩雷拉的成功，他说他看到学校参与人数激增，“这令人鼓舞”。

“总的来说，所有去名古屋参赛的运动员都尽了全力。很多人取得了个人最佳成绩，很多人实现了自己的目标，”他补充道。

“我们可以期待……更多运动员带着好成绩归来，所以这是朝着正确方向迈出的一步。”

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