Asian Games 2026: New Look, New Outlook as Pereira Brings Home 100M Silver With 200M Title Defence in Sight

Pereira cried happy tears after bagging a silver in the women's 100m final. Photo: SpexSG/ Jeremy Lee

As sprint queen Shanti Pereira raced down the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium track on Friday (Sep 25) en route to silver in the women’s 100m final, five star-shaped clips in red and white adorned her braided hair, with ribbons of the same colours woven through it.

It was a new look for one of Singapore’s most recognisable athletes, who had wanted “to do something different” on her fourth appearance at the Games.

Almost three years to the day since she bagged her first piece of silverware at the Games, also a 100m silver, Pereira also admitted that her outlook had changed since then too.

“I've changed quite a bit. I've really learned to embrace the ups and the downs of this sport… learning how to deal with a whole different set of expectations and pressure,” said Pereira, who turned 30 five days earlier.

Pereira sported a fresh, new look as she took to the track at her opening event in Nagoya. Photo: SpexSG/ Jeremy Lee

“I feel very content with who I am, how I perform, and my mindset that I have when it comes to big races. I have learned to love the pressure now.”

And there would surely have been some pressure on Pereira, who entered the final as the fastest qualifier after clocking 11.28sec in the semi-finals, with Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong and Chinese favourite Chen Yujie behind her.

In the decider less than three hours later, Pereira pulled off a season-best performance of 11.21s to cross the line just behind Yu, who finished with a Games record of 11.06s.

Odiong was third with 11.33s.

Having come into the Games as the fifth fastest in Asia this season with her 11.24s time at July’s Commonwealth Games, Pereira had set her sights on rewriting her national mark of 11.20s.

It was a monumental effort in the end, coming just one-hundredth of a second shy.

“The aim was to be at my peak, and I believe I am. I was really aiming to not only get gold but to break my national record, and I came really close.”

But silver in the 100m final was merely the appetiser for Pereira, who is “ready to go” for her pet event, the women’s 200m, where she will bid to become the first athlete to successfully defend the title.

“This whole season and in the build-up, I managed to gain a lot of confidence both in training and in the races that I took part in, all to be in my best shape here.”

And she has the credentials to back it up, with her season-best 22.78s at the Oman Athletics Grand Prix earlier this month the fastest time in Asia this year. Japan’s home hope Abigael Rufa Ido (22.81s) and Chen (22.84s) follow closely behind.

Tan came in 12th overall in the women's 100m. Photo: SNOC/ Lim Weixiang

Meanwhile, Elizabeth-Ann Tan finished 12th out of 16 with a time of 11.72s, just four hundredths off her personal best.

In the men’s 100m event, Marc Brian Louis clocked a season-best time of 10.33s in his 100m heats en route to the semi-finals, where he recorded 10.37s to place 16th out of 24.

Louis ran a new season-best time in the men's 100m heats. Photo: SpexSG/ Bryan Foo

A day earlier, triple jumper Tia Rozario capped off her debut with an 11th-place finish after a 12.95m leap.

In the women’s 10,000m, Vanessa Lee broke the national record with a time of 36:00.95 to finish 10th, while Nicole Low recorded a new personal best of 36:48.31 to take the 12th spot.

Both Low and Lee recorded new personal bests in Nagoya. Photo: SpexSG/ Jeremy Lee

The 20th Asian Games are held in Japan from 19 September to 4 October 2026. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.