Singapore Rowing Association president Paul Supramaniam (centre) with Mr Toh Han Chong (left) and Mr Steve Davies in a photo taken in 2022. SINGAPORE – 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 explained that it had mainly relied on the expat community, volunteer coaches or consultants, as cost had been a factor. A credible coach would cost between $100,000 to $150,000 a year. In 2015, Singapore bagged a silver and three bronzes in SEA Games rowing.
But it was not represented in the sport at the 2019 edition and its rowers returned home empty-handed from the Games in 2022. The sport did not feature at the 2017 and 2023 Games. While Supramaniam did not specify a timeline for the coaching hire, he confirmed that discussions with several overseas candidates are ongoing.
“We�.