The Amateur Rowing Association of Sri Lanka (ARASL) is in a twilight zone in raising funds, which in return has impacted heavily in keeping their Consultant Advisor, Pedro Sanz from Spain on board, according to officials.
The ARASL had the backing from the Ministry of Sports to pay the salary of the Spanish expert, who in return has done a tremendous job to uplift the standards of local rowers, according to Dimuth Gunawardena, the president of the ARASL.
Gunawardena praised the efforts of Pedro Sanz, who took a firm decision to stand by the rowing fraternity, despite recent economic recessions and other restrictions.
“He changed the whole course of rowing in Sri Lanka. First he instilled discipline among all athletes and by now, after nearly a year, he has raised the standards of our athletes up to international standards. As of now Sri Lanka is in a comfortable position to win medals at Asian Championships,” Gunawardena said.
But, the ARASL is presently facing a huge setback in procuring funds to pay the salary of Pedro Sanz who has not received his monthly pay for a few months.
The ARASL had to face this new situation after the Ministry of Sports froze all funding granted to its affiliated sports bodies due to the ongoing financial situation in the country.
“Under this situation, the ARASL is indebted to our former president, Rohan Fernando, who willingly came forward to fund rowing willingly, at all times when we were facing financial difficulties. He’s a keen contributor to rowing and we cannot thank him enough, as well as Pedro, who voluntarily continued his services despite knowing our situation. We hope this situation could be overcome, so we could reap the benefits of our efforts at international events by winning medals,” Gunawardena further explained.