17-7-2023 (SINGAPORE) Singapore’s sprint queen, Shanti Pereira, has expressed her belief that there is still more to come from her, despite completing an unprecedented sprint double at the Asian Athletics Championships. Pereira became Singapore’s first gold medallist at the continental meet after securing the 100m title in a national record of 11.20sec on Friday, before adding the 200m crown in a championship record of 22.70sec on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters at Changi Airport after arriving in Singapore on Monday, the 26-year-old acknowledged that there are still technical parts of the race that she can work on to improve. She added that she needs to focus on maintaining her form under fatigue, which is something she can work on moving forward into more championships and competitions.
Pereira also expressed her surprise at how well she performed, saying that she was surprised by the gap she achieved, which she did not expect at an Asian level competition. Her times this season had put her in contention for a medal at the competition.
Pereira’s coach, Luis Cunha, believes that she has made significant progress from the start of the season, saying that it has been a very challenging year. However, he added that she is now on a different level from before, having won both the 100m and 200m races in Thailand convincingly.
Pereira will spend a week in Singapore before flying off to train and compete in Berlin and Copenhagen ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August. The next major competition after the world meet is the Hangzhou Asian Games in September and October.
Pereira has received an outpouring of support following her historical success at the Asian Athletics Championships. On the team’s flight back to Singapore, the Scoot flight captain made an announcement congratulating Pereira on her gold medals. Her phone has also been flooded with messages of encouragement.
Pereira’s coach believes that training overseas will provide her with the opportunity to compete with some of the best athletes in the world.
