Three to represent Sri Lanka at Asian Rowing Championship
(From left) Technical Director of ARASL Pedro Lopez, Asian Junior rowers Shaylon Gunaratna, Maheshi Liyanage and Cheyanka Epasinghe with Sithira Wickramasekera, the President of BLRC and Vice President of ARASL
Sri Lanka will be represented by three young and aspiring athletes at the Junior Asian Rowing Championship, which will begin today at Ban Chang Rayong in Thailand. The meet will run along for over 10 days and the three youngsters representing Sri Lanka.
Shaylon Gunaratna and Cheyanka Epasinghe, who will compete in the Men’s Double Sculls, and Maheshi Liyanage, who will turn out in the Women’s Single Scull, have been going through constant training under the watchful eyes of Pedro Lopez, the Technical Director of Amateur Rowing Association of Sri Lanka (ARASL).
Interestingly the training has been taking place at the Bolgoda Lake in Moratuwa, the competition and training venue of Bolgoda Lake Rowing Club, where race of different lengths and the only endurance rowing regatta of Sri Lanka, were held. “This is the ideal location to train national rowing athletes, because it offers all the effects of the sport an athlete will come across at international-level competitions. I really recommend that this location should be utilised to train all our athletes in the future, and we may experience a clear difference in the progress of athletes,” Pedro Lopez, the Technical Director of ARASL said, after a training session.
Despite being one of the youngest in the ARASL affiliation, Bolgoda Lake Rowing Club (BLRC) is regarded as one of the active clubs to initiate regattas of different sorts. It hosted the country’s first ever endurance rowing regatta, where boats take a return trip to the starting point with one or more turn offs. The first couple of Eights rowing boats were brought down to Sri Lanka by BLRC.
“BLRC has been in the forefront in initiating many aspects to Sri Lanka rowing. The Bolgoda Lake, as many are aware is the ideal location to any watersport, let alone rowing. The location is famous for its versatility, and rowing can benefit immensely from here according to the findings and recommendations of Mr. Lopez,” stated Sithira Wickramasekera, the President of BLRC and Vice President of ARASL.
The four member Sri Lanka team of Technical Director Lopez and athletes Shaylon Gunaratna, Cheyanka Epasinghe and Maheshi Liyanage left Sri Lanka on Friday, and will return on December 8.