Dimuth Gunawardena, the secretary of the Amateur Rowing Association of Sri Lanka (ARASL), in an interview with the Sunday Observer said it marked the first such major achievement in the Association’s 150-year-old history, thanks to the four army women who have now bought it name and fame. This enters the records book, as the secretary revealed and the four women had to go through the hard grind of conquering heavyweights in the likes of Japan and China in their path to the medal.
“The four women won big in the lightweight women quadruple sculls category. This is the first-ever time Sri Lanka has won a medal in the Asian circuit.“If you lose the preliminary, you’re sent to the B-final. If successful, you progress to the A-final. The A-final offers gold, silver or bronze,” said an elated Gunawardena.He said the behind-the-scenes of hiring a Russian Olympic athlete had reaped in rewards.
The men’s team too had entered the A-final but fell short of settling for bronze. Nevertheless, the women winners do stand a chance of a double-digit of extending their medal tally today, the final day.This event category will be the Open women’s quadruple sculls.The ARASL had sent a contingent of ten athletes, including half-a-dozen men.“All international matches are rode over two-kilometres,” Gunawardena said.