Five things about Tan Zong Yang, sprinter Shanti Pereira’s fiance

SINGAPORE – On June 12, Shanti Pereira announced in an Instagram post that she is

now engaged to her boyfriend of three years, Tan Zong Yang

.

While Tan has kept a low profile, staying away from the spotlight, he has been a big source of support for Pereira.

Here are five things to know about the 30-year-old.

He’s a former national sprinter

According to his LinkedIn page, Tan joined the national team at the start of 2013. In an

interview

two years later, he revealed that he first took up the sport competitively when he was in St Joseph’s Institution.

He also worked with Pereira’s coach, 2023 Singapore Sports Awards coach of the year Luis Cunha, before ending his running career.  

A history maker at the SEA Games

Tan

claimed a bronze medal

in the men’s 400m, his pet event, at the Hanoi SEA Games in 2022. He and teammates Reuben Lee, Calvin Quek and Thiruben Thana Rajan also finished third in the men’s 4x400m relay.

The 200m bronze was also Singapore’s first medal in the event in 47 years. 

He’s a lawyer

Tan was previously an associate at Niru & Co LLC, having joined the company in 2020. According to his LinkedIn page, it was his first full-time job. 

In a 2020 interview, Tan recalled sitting for his last paper in the “Part B” Bar exams wearing his Team Singapore attire so that he could rush off to the airport to travel to the Philippines for the 2019 SEA Games. He is now an associate at Allen & Gledhill LLP..

Supportive boyfriend

Tan is often seen travelling with Pereira to her overseas meets as her pillar of support. He was in the stands during the Hangzhou Asian Games and Asian Athletics Championships in 2023.

In an Instagram post in August 2021, Pereira called Tan her “no. 1”, adding that he is always by her side, and thanking him for being on her journey.

Always there for Shanti 

On Tan’s Instagram profile, eight out of 10 of his last posts feature Pereira – a sign that she is always present in his life.

Pereira’s account also contains posts of the couple together on various occasions, including a 2023 holiday in Seoul and during Chinese New Year in 2022.