Singapore's 49erFX duo finish seventh at World Cup
High-performance manager Chua says 49erFX duo are 'on track' for Tokyo 2020
It was a prestigious regatta with a line-up of top sailors and Olympic medallists from sailing powerhouses.
Making their debut, Singapore's women's 49erFX duo Kimberly Lim and Cecilia Low held their own at the Sailing World Cup Finals in Santander, Spain when they finished seventh out of 15 boats on Saturday.
They were the best Asian pair in the field with their result.
"Today was rather rough, really patch, really shifty; I think we started off pretty well, but there was a small error we made together and we had to catch up from there," Lim, 20, said after the medal race on Saturday.
"This week was a really good week, and we can see a big jump in our progress, perhaps not so much about the results, but we've worked out our processes well.
"We did a lot better in the way we sail the boat and the course.
"We see improvement in the things we want to work on and that is the most important thing."
Against a strong fleet that included Rio Olympic gold medallists Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (Brazil), and silver medallists Molly Meech and Alex Maloney (New Zealand), the Singaporeans posted five top-five finishes in 12 races, before the medal race.
Grael and Kunze eventually won the event, while Great Britain's Charlotte Dobson and Saskia Tidey finished second, and France's Lili Sebesi and Albane Dubois were third.
Lim and Low, 26, are training and competing full-time towards Tokyo 2020, and also competed in other European regattas earlier this year.
The pair finished third at the Trofeo SAR Princess Sofia Trophy in March, and ninth at the Sailing World Cup Series 2 in Hyeres, France last month.
Low said: "This year is all about our processes and getting that right.
"We got a new coach and we're working hard together so everything for the year is about learning."
SingaporeSailing's high-performance manager Chua Tan Ching said: "The girls are very much on track at the moment (for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics).
"Things are going according to plan and the results from this regatta are evidence of that.
"We will track their progress and see how they perform in upcoming regattas."
Lim and Low will stay in Europe for a training camp before their next major regatta, the 49erFX World Championship in Portugal in August.
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