SINGAPORE: The National Museum of Singapore recently received donations from two Singaporean sporting legends: sprint queen Shanti Pereira and former bowling champion Remy Ong.

Pereira autographed a pair of shoes she wore during her historic gold medal win at the 19th Asian Games, while Ong contributed a cherished gold medal from his playing career.

On Oct 2 2023, the nation was glued to the screen as they watched Pereira win the 200m race with a time of 23.03s. She took the first spot ahead of China’s Li Yuting (23.28s) and Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong (23.48s), who came in second and third place, respectively.

It was Singapore’s first athletics gold medal at the Asian Games since Chee Swee Lee came out top at the women’s 400m race in 1974.

“We are proud to receive this autographed pair of shoes that was worn by Singaporean athlete Shanti Pereira during the historic 19th Asian Games women’s 200m on 2nd October 2023, where she bagged the gold medal – Singapore’s first athletics gold medal since 1974!” posted the National Museum of Singapore on their Facebook page.

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Prior to the Asian Games, Pereira became the first Singaporean to win both the 100m and 200m sprint events at the Southeast Asian Games.

She clocked 11.41s in the 100m race and set a new game record in the 200m finals with a time of 22.69s. That same year, she also won the gold medals in the 100m and 200m races at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships.

Photo credit: National Museum of Singapore

From track and field, we move on to bowling. Ong was a household name during his younger days as a national bowler. He won the gold medal in the men’s singles and the all-events category at the 2006 WTBA World Tenpin Bowling Championships in Busan.

The former Team Singapore national team captain also won three gold medals at the 2002 Asian Games in South Korea.

“Singaporean bowler Remy Ong has kindly donated two of his prized possessions to the National Museum, including his gold medal from the 2006 WTBA World Tenpin Bowling Championships.

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The other item is an autographed blazer (pic above), which he wore during the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, where he captained the men’s national bowling team and won three gold medals in the men’s singles, trios and masters events,” mentioned the National Museum of Singapore.

After retiring from competitive bowling in 2013, the former world champion became the head coach of the Singapore men’s and women’s national teams.

However, in early 2016, he stepped down as the national team head coach to pursue his business interests and make a comeback in competitive bowling.