They put up a gutsy fight, but Singapore's Low Wen Chun and Jonathan Russel Chew narrowly missed a podium place at the Volvo Youth Sailing Isaf World Championships on Friday.

The pair, both 17, finished fourth among 16 boats in the SL 16 event at Arhus, Denmark.

They lost the bronze to Britain's James Ellis and Andrew Glover on countback.

'We weren't quite used to the boat,' said Wen Chun.

'We raced badly on the second and third days, capsizing twice. It really blew our chances.

'But, as we got used to the boat, we put in good scores.'

The pair, who usually sail on the Hobie 16, trained on the boat for only a week in Italy last month.

They were the top finishers among the nine-member Singapore team.

Elizabeth Yin (Laser Radial) was seventh, Griselda Khng and Cecilia Low (29er Girls) ninth, Justin Liu and Sherman Cheng (29er Boys) 15th, Leonard Ong (Windsurfing RSX Boys) 21st and Lo Jun Hao (Laser Standard) 23rd.

The team, though, did not leave Arhus empty-handed.

They won the Bengt Julin Trophy for Sportsmanship based on a vote by the other competitors.