SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Singapore’s sprint queen Shanti Pereira clinched silver in the women’s 200m at the Asian Athletics Championships on May 31.
At the Gumi Civic Stadium in South Korea, the 28-year-old clocked a season-best time of 22.98sec, just 0.01sec behind gold medallist Chen Yujie (22.97) and ahead of Li Yuting (23.23) both of China.
Defending champion Pereira had qualified second quickest in the field of 20 after clocking 23.59sec. Japan’s Remi Tsuruta topped the heats with 23.37sec, while China’s Chen (23.60) was third.
Pereira, who won a 100m and 200m double in the 2023 edition in Thailand, had also settled for silver in the 100m final on May 28 after clocking 11.41sec, losing out to China’s Liang Xiaojing by just 0.04sec.
Besides the two creditable silver medals, Pereira ended her campaign in Gumi with a national record, after teaming up with Elizabeth-Ann Tan, Shannon Tan and Laavinia Jaiganth to set a new mark of 44.66sec in the women’s 4x100m relay.
The Singaporeans, who finished fifth out of seven teams, surpassed the previous time of 44.96sec set in 2017 by Pereira, Dipna Lim, Wendy Enn and Nur Izlyn Zaini.
China won the race with a 43.28sec effort, ahead of India (43.86sec) and Thailand (44.26sec).
Singapore Athletics (SA) president Lien Choong Luen praised Pereira for her performances.
He said: “Shanti’s back-to-back silver medals over 100m and 200m in Korea is an incredible feat in field packed with lots of talent.
“While her performance at the 2023 edition saw different medal colours, the ability to stay consistent over multiple years is a testament to her determination and that of coach Luis (Cunha) and her team.
“Her longevity and performance is an inspiration for our young athletes.”
In other results, Singapore’s 400m hurdler Calvin Quek clocked 50.94sec to finish last in the field of seven runners.
The event was won by Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba (48.00sec), with Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chung-wei (49.73) and Japan’s Shunta Inoue (50.02) finishing in the minor podium spots.
Meanwhile, in the men’s 4x100m relay, despite a promising start, Singaporeans Daryl Tan, Yan Teo, Xander Ho and Marc Louis finished last out of seven teams in a time of 40.96sec.
Hosts South Korea claimed the gold with a meet record of 38.49sec, ahead of Thailand (38.78sec) and China (38.82sec). - The Straits Times/ANN
