In October 2023, Shanti Pereira, a Singaporean track and field athlete, won the women’s 200m finals at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. She took home a gold medal for Singapore — ending a 49-year drought.
The sprint queen now holds the 100m and 200m national record, as well as the 200m SEA Games and 200m Asian Games record. Speaking to ZULA, Shanti shares what her journey is like growing up with track and field, her inspirations, and the pressure of being an athlete.
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When Shanti was in Primary Three, she participated in her school’s sports day and won the 100m and 400m races. As fate would allow it, the school’s track and field coach happened to watch her race and invited her to join the CCA.
At that point of time, her older sister was also a national athlete competing in track, so Shanti thought, “why not?” and joined the club.
Shanti continued the sport and went on to Singapore Sports School, then studied Sports and Leisure Management at Republic Polytechnic.
Her breakthrough in competition came when she was just 17 years old, where she broke the national record and first went under 12 seconds for the 100m race.
“That was when I really started to see a lot of progress in track and field and it became something I enjoy doing. Sports is always a challenge, and it gives me a feeling of accomplishment when I achieve results.”
Being a national athlete isn’t easy, especially when it comes to juggling school and maintaining your body in its best shape for competitions. But Shanti admitted that she had never once thought of quitting.
“Things are tough and I would feel tired, but it has honestly never reached a point where I want to stop. Being an athlete is something that has already become a part of who I am.”
It also helps that Shani has an extremely supportive background — her family has been there for her every step of the way since she started in the sport young.
When asked what her life as an athlete is like now, Shanti gave us the breakdown: “I train twice a day. I usually have a pretty hearty breakfast, then I go for my first training session that usually lasts about one and a half hours. Then I have my lunch and take some time to see a masseuse, physiotherapist, psychologist or nutritionist.
After that, I take a very short nap just to prepare for my afternoon or evening session, which is often more intense and lasts for about two to three hours. I’ll have a light meal for dinner and then have a good night’s sleep.”
Like many of us, Shanti unwinds after a long day by watching Netflix shows. She also shared that she enjoys watching makeup tutorials on YouTube, quoting Kathleen Lights as her favourite beauty blogger.
Shanti has been travelling to compete and train, especially since she had a lot of major games to prepare for this year. With major games come higher stakes too, so she uses these opportunities to gain experiences in different parts of the world.
For any athlete, injuries are unavoidable. Shanti went on to explain, “as much as injuries are a physical thing, it takes a toll on you emotionally as well. It might happen while you’re preparing for something important and change your plans completely.”
Shanti’s worst injury was one that she experienced five years ago — a hamstring strain which took around two to three months to fully recover. “It was hard because I was training for a major competition so I wasn’t able to perform my best.”
It took a while for Shanti to eventually gain back her confidence and return to her daily routine, but with the support of her friends and family, she managed to find a good and healthy mindset for herself.
At the 2015 SEA Games, Shanti won the bronze medal in the 100m with a time of 11.88 seconds, as well as a gold medal in the 200m with a time of 23.60s. To put this into perspective, these were Singapore’s first medals in the event in 42 years.
“That was definitely one of the highlights of my career. At that point of time, I was very new to the attention and all the eyes on me, so I wasn’t really prepared for more. I felt like I needed more experience.”
Following those achievements, Shanti felt that it was harder for her to run free. She faced a new set of expectations and challenges that she didn’t know of before, and felt the pressure slowly eat at her.
But it seems like Shanti has turned these pressures into new motivations instead. 2023 became a remarkable year for her where she broke many records, both personal and national. It started off with her running the 200m under 23 seconds for the first time, and rewrote her 100m record for the 6th time at the Asian Athletics Championship.
Shanti then became the first Singaporean to qualify for the World Athletics Championship — another incredible milestone for her. Most recently, she clinched gold at the Asian Games 200m event, Singapore’s first in athletics since 1974.
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Most recently nicknamed as “Singapore’s Sprint Queen”, Shanti opened up that it’s been an honour to be given this title.
“It has been the end of a very incredible season and a whole year in general. These competitions were a testament to all the hard work that both my coach and myself put in and we’re very happy to see the results. It gives us a lot of motivation leading to the next one, and it was an incredible feeling to be on the podium.”
But of course, when going for major competitions and seeing competitors from other countries, there’s no doubt that there will be more pressure and expectations.
“I’ve come to accept it for what it is. When you achieve big things, people are going to be looking at you. But I don’t see these other world renowned athletes as celebrities — I want to know what their routine is like and how they carry out their sport. It’s always very eye-opening to witness that firsthand, and I am very privileged to have many opportunities like these.”
What’s next for Singapore’s Sprint Queen? Shanti is running full speed ahead. She doesn’t exactly know what’s in store for her, but she isn’t letting this uncertainty scare her. “I’m just focused on living in the moment right now and being thankful for what I’ve got. I just hope to see this through for as long as possible — I don’t intend to stop.”
To Shanti, the key things to juggling both her personal life and her career are sacrifice, discipline and consistency. After all, being an athlete means having a drastically different life from those who work a 9-to-6 desk job every day.
“You have to change your lifestyle and it becomes difficult to accept the sacrifices. But after a while, you’ll realise why you’re doing this and the goals you want to achieve.”
To other Singaporeans who aspire for big goals like Shanti, Shanti advises, “if you find something that you are truly passionate about, whether it’s a sport or any craft, don’t be afraid to pursue it. At the end of the day, it’s your journey, and only you have the power to tell what happens.”
As cliché as this may sound, while we shouldn’t be afraid to dream big, these achievements can only go hand in hand with hard work and sacrifice. Through breaking records and achieving new heights, we hope that Shanti continues to make our Little Red Dot proud.
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