Sprint queen Shanti Pereira arrived back home in Singapore on Oct. 5 afternoon, following her historic gold and silver medal wins at the Hang Zhou Asian Games.

Family and supporters greeted her at T1

The 27-year-old was greeted by a crowd of supporters at Terminal 1's Arrival Hall, some of whom were holding up posters and signs.

Pereira's family was there too, and they welcomed her with hugs, a bouquet of flowers, and garlands.

Nice, warm welcome back home

Speaking to the media at the airport, Pereira said that it was a "nice, warm welcome back home" for her.

"It's a lot. It's really nice to see everyone really excited, and a lot of my family members are here as well."

Pereira explained that she will spend the rest of the month to rest and recover, before resuming general preparations for the new season in early 2024. This includes preparations for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, which she qualified for in August 2023.

She added that she will be working on the "small, technical things", such as her foot position when running, and intends to achieve a faster timing in the new season.

Hopes her story can inspire others

Pereira brought home two medals from the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

She bagged the gold medal in the women's 200m final, which marked Singapore's first athletics gold medal at the Games in almost 50 years.

She also secured the silver medal in the women's 100m final, only 0.04 seconds behind the gold medallist.

Pereira hoped that her journey will inspire other athletes in Singapore to work hard and achieve their goals.

"I really hope my story can somehow inspire not just track and field athletes but people from every sport who are thinking of pursuing them maybe a bit more seriously than they are now.

For me, I found something that I love to do quite early on, and I just worked hard at it, I pushed for it and I didn't give up because I knew this was what I wanted to do.

If anyone else is feeling the same way as me, I say go for it, don't be afraid to dream big. It doesn't have to be a scary thing, but you definitely do have to put in your hard work and sacrifice a lot of things to reach that goal and get what you want."

Pereira also thanked Singaporeans for their support both in Hangzhou and back home.

"Thank you... it's been a huge honour representing Singapore," she said.

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Top images by Hannah Martens & Mothership.