Defending champion Shanti Pereira tops heats, advances to Asian Games 200m finals
Shanti Pereira clocked a time of 23.10s and was the top qualifier in the women's 200m heats.
by Matthew Mohan · CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
NAGOYA: Defending champion Shanti Pereira was the top qualifier in the women's Asian Games 200m heats on Saturday (Sep 26), booking her spot in the final.
On a rainy evening at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, the Singaporean registered a time of 23.10s in her heat. China's Chen Yujie was the next fastest overall qualifier with a time of 23.29s.
Pereira will compete in the final on Sunday night. The top two from each heat along with the next two fastest qualifiers moved on to the final.
Speaking to reporters, the Singaporean said she had executed the race the way she wanted.
"I was really just trying to stay as relaxed as I can today ... I've got three races already in last few days," Pereira added. "I love the 200m, I think everyone knows, and I was just excited to get it going."
Earlier in the evening, Singapore' Ang Chen Xiang qualified for the 110m hurdles final after timing 13.88s.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
Pereira's showing on Saturday comes a day after she retained her silver in the 100m. China's Chen won gold in a Games record time of 11.06s, while Pereira clocked a season’s best of 11.21s.
Pereira’s pet event is the 200m and her national record stands at 22.57s.
At the Hangzhou Games, her victory was Singapore’s first athletics gold since 1974, when Chee Swee Lee won the women’s 400m.
"I know I am the defending champion, but at the same time, I'm just one of the participants that's here, and we're all fighting for the same thing," said Pereira.
"We're all giving everything we have."
Newsletter
Recommended Read
Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read
A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app