There were no tears this time, only a smile as Shanti Pereira looked up at the scoreboard at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium.
Missing out on the women's 200m gold for the second consecutive SEA Games hurt, but an older and more mature sprinter took the disappointment on the chin.
The 22-year-old, who first claimed victory at Singapore 2015, clocked 23.77sec in the final yesterday to claim the bronze.
Newly crowned sprint queen Kristina Knott of the Philippines won in a Games record of 23.01sec, ahead of 2017 winner Le Tu Chinh of Vietnam in 23.45sec.
Said Pereira: "I feel happy, I got a season's best and I got a bronze, so overall, I'm quite happy.
"Yeah, definitely there's disappointment. But seeing the competition here, it's really fierce so I'm just glad I got to run with them and stay in the mix in the final."
The sprinter said that the morning's heats were a reality check for her aim for gold. The United States-based Knott, on her Games debut, broke the Philippine record with a blistering 23.07sec, before lowering it again in the evening. Chinh was the second-fastest qualifier in 23.61sec, ahead of Pereira in 23.94.
Pereira, who clocked the national record of 23.60sec at the 2015 Games, added: "After I saw the time, I was like, 'Wow, she's really good and probably gunning to qualify for Tokyo', so good for her."
While the Singaporean was inconsolable after losing the gold in 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, she kept her emotions in check this time. "I guess it's about managing expectations and just aiming to have fun, and to enjoy my race instead of thinking about the result," she said.
With 24-year-old Knott set to dominate the track in the years to come, Pereira is up for the challenge, saying: "She's definitely going to be a fierce competitor and I'm looking forward to it."
In the men's 200m, it was a one-two finish for Thailand through Chayut Khongprasit (20.71sec) and Siripol Punpa (20.78). Malaysia's Nasir Taib Russel Alexander took bronze in 21.11sec.
Separately, in what is a blow to the Singapore team, pole vaulter Rachel Yang, 37, will not have the chance to improve on her bronze medal from 2017. She has been ruled out after tearing her calf muscle during a training session a day before departing Singapore.
