ROWING BODY EYES COACH FOR GAMES GLORY

Association starts search for full-time hire as it targets medals at 2029 SEA Games

- Deepanraj Ganesan

Singapore Rowing Association (SRA) president Paul Supramaniam needs no reminder of an unwanted record - the Republic's rowers have not stepped onto a SEA Games podium since 2015.

But he hopes that will change soon, as he eyes the 2029 edition in Singapore as a realistic target for ending that long drought.

To achieve this, the SRA intends to hire a full-time head coach, which it has not had since 2015.

Irishman John Holland was hired on a short-term contract to be full-time coach for the SEA Games on home soil that year and he continued on a part-time basis till the 2018 Asian Games.

Japanese coach Goken Sakamoto, who also had a stint with SRA from 2012 to 2015 as a volunteer, is the current national coach on a consultant basis.

Supramaniam said that it had mainly relied on the expat community, volunteer coaches or consultants, as cost had been a factor. A full-time coach would cost between $100,000 and $150,000 a year.