After 'really tough season', Singapore sprint queen Shanti Pereira excited to be home, and to 'start fresh'

SINGAPORE: After a tough season which saw her battle injury and deal with a difficult Olympics campaign, Singapore’s sprint queen Shanti Pereira is looking forward to home comforts.

Speaking to reporters after arriving at Changi Airport on Thursday (Sep 5), the 27-year-old said she was excited to “decompress”, “chill” and spend time with her loved ones.

“I’ve missed Singapore so much, I don’t think I’ve missed home this much (before),” she said.

“I think because it was also a really tough season.”

The sprinter, who was in good spirits after a 12 hour flight from Copenhagen, said she would be taking the rest of the month off before resuming training.

The last two years have been a whirlwind for Pereira.

At the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, she won the 200m final - Singapore’s first athletics gold medal since 1974. Days before that, Pereira ended Singapore’s nearly 50-year wait for an Asiad track and field medal, after she took a silver in the 100m.

At the start of 2024, she spent two months training in Florida. But a stress injury inher fibula would result in her missing her debut in the Diamond Leaguecompetition in Xiamen and Shanghai, as well as two major meets in Japan among other competitions.

It would also set her back on preparations for the Paris Olympics. 

In her second Games campaign, Pereira did not make it past the 100m and 200m heats.

In the 200m, she clocked a time of 23.21s in the heats before timing 23.45s in the repechage heats. Her national record stands at 22.57s.

In the 100m, she clocked 11.63s, and finished 55th out of 72 athletes overall. Her national record stands at 11.20s.

"I really wish this season turned out differently, but there's nothing I can really do about it now, except learn from it and also accept