NAGOYA — Distance runner Vanessa Lee Ying Zhuang rewrote the record books on the opening night of track and field at the 20th Asian Games, setting a new Singapore national record in the women’s 10,000m at the Paloma Mizuho Stadium on Thursday.
Lee clocked 36:00.95 to finish tenth in a world-class field of 13, bettering her own previous national mark over the distance. It extends the 28-year-old’s collection to six national records across various distances. Fellow Singaporean Nicole Low Sui Xuan placed 12th, carving 11 seconds off her previous best to register a personal best (PB) of 36:48.31.
The race was won in tactical fashion by Bahrain’s Olympic 3000m steeplechase champion Winfred Yavi (32:39.18), who held off home favourite Nozomi Tanaka of Japan (32:41.54) and India’s Seema (32:50.05).
Women’s 10,000m Final Results
| Position | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Winfred Yavi | BRN | 32:39.18 | Gold |
| 2 | Nozomi Tanaka | JPN | 32:41.54 | Silver |
| 3 | Seema | IND | 32:50.05 | Bronze |
| 10 | Vanessa Lee Ying Zhuang | SGP | 36:00.95 | National Record (NR) |
| 12 | Nicole Low Sui Xuan | SGP | 36:48.31 | Personal Best (PB) |
Shanti Pereira Goes Stride-for-Stride with Asian Leader
Earlier in the evening session, sprint queen Shanti Pereira launched the defence of her continental pedigree in commanding fashion.
Lining up in lane five of heat one in the women's 100m, Pereira went shoulder-to-shoulder with China’s 17-year-old sprint sensation Chen Yujie, the current Asian leader with an 11.08s season best. Running into a 0.4 m/s headwind, Pereira looked smooth and composed, crossing the line in 11.43 seconds just two hundredths behind Chen (11.41) to comfortably claim automatic qualification.
Pereira, who holds the Singapore national record at 11.20s and captured 200m gold and 100m silver at Hangzhou, advances to Friday's semi-finals as one of the key medal contenders. The sprint landscape shifted dramatically in heat four when defending Asian Games champion Ge Manqi of China pulled up injured, finishing in 12.13s before receiving medical attention on the track.
Singapore’s Elizabeth-Ann Tan also secured safe passage into the semi-finals. Competing in heat two a day after celebrating her 23rd birthday, Tan ran 11.79s for fourth place behind Thailand’s Jirapat Khanonta (11.45), progressing as the second-fastest non-automatic qualifier.
Marc Brian Louis Fires to Season Best; Puripol Boonson Blazes Sub-10
In the men’s 100m heats, national record holder Marc Brian Louis stepped up against a stacked field in heat five.
Rocketing out of the blocks with the quickest reaction time of the heat (0.126s), Louis held his form to take second place in 10.33 seconds (-0.1 m/s wind)—his fastest run of 2026 and only six hundredths shy of his 10.27s national mark. The race was won by Malaysia’s Muhammad Mohd Fahmi (10.17), with Louis edging out Chinese Taipei’s Yang Chun-han (10.38) and Bangladesh’s Imranur Rahman.
Regional attention was also commanded by Thailand's 20-year-old phenom Puripol Boonson. The SEA Games champion stamped his authority on the competition by clocking a wind-legal 9.95s (-0.2 m/s) in heat one—just 0.03 seconds shy of Su Bingtian’s Asian Games record of 9.92s.
Infield Setback for Tia Louise Rozario
Singapore’s infield campaign suffered an unfortunate blow during the women’s triple jump final.
Four-time national champion Tia Louise Rozario, who set the national mark of 13.21m earlier this season, registered a leap of 12.95m to finish 11th. Rozario picked up an injury during the event and was unable to break into the top eight for three additional attempts.
Her status for the women’s long jump qualification on Saturday remains uncertain. Uzbekistan’s Sharifa Davronova claimed gold with a personal best of 14.35m, while China's Huang Yingying (14.12m) and Li Yi (13.83m) completed the podium.
Team Singapore Day 1 Athletics Summary
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Vanessa Lee Ying Zhuang — Women’s 10,000m: 10th (36:00.95, National Record)
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Nicole Low Sui Xuan — Women’s 10,000m: 12th (36:48.31, Personal Best)
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Shanti Pereira — Women’s 100m: 2nd in Heat 1 (11.43s, Qualified for Semi-Finals)
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Elizabeth-Ann Tan — Women’s 100m: 4th in Heat 2 (11.79s, Qualified for Semi-Finals)
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Marc Brian Louis — Men’s 100m: 2nd in Heat 5 (10.33s, Season Best, Qualified for Semi-Finals)
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Tia Louise Rozario — Women’s Triple Jump: 11th (12.95m)
The action continues on Friday evening (Singapore time), with Pereira and Tan contesting the women’s 100m semi-finals starting at 6:13 PM, followed by Louis in the men’s 100m semi-finals at 6:33 PM ahead of the marquee finals later that night.