WHILE Singapore sailors Justin Liu and Sherman Cheng started 2010 on a winning note, their teammates Griselda Khng and Cecilia Low saw their luck desert them just when first place at the Australian National Championships was in their sights.

Justin and Sherman stormed to the Men's and Open title at the Adelaide event and retained the titles they won last year.

But Griselda and Cecilia saw their commanding 17-point lead blown away on the final day to hand the Women's title to Australians Lucy Shephard and Amelia Catt.

According to team manager Serena Wong, Griselda, 17, and Cecilia, 18, suffered the misfortune of a broken kicker on their 420-class boat at Largs Bay Sailing Club.

'It was just one of those days when things didn't work out,' she said.

'The equipment broke and they had to return to shore to get it repaired. That really affected Griselda and Cecilia, who did not perform as they usually do in their last two races.'

Griselda and Cecilia had to settle for second in the Women's category instead on 100 points, six points behind the Aussie pair of Shephard and Catt.

But Justin and Sherman, who went into yesterday's final races at the head of the 54-strong fleet, kept their composure to finish first on 21 points, three ahead of Australians Matthew Jerwood and Patrick Vos.

Victory Down Under was another feather in the cap for the duo, who are both 17 years old and have sailed together for five years.

Their chemistry also saw them win gold medals at the 2006 Asian Games and the 2007 South-east Asia Games.

Wong said: 'Justin and Sherman won the title with one race to spare. It was another great performance by them.

'They have won the respect of the Australians by winning the title for two years in a row.'

Despite the hiccup, Griselda and Cecilia, along with Justin and Sherman, have all qualified for March's Asian Championship in Shanwei, China.

Over at the Adelaide Sailing Club, Koh Seng Leong is the overall leader in the Laser Radial class on 15 points, going into the final day of the Australian Laser Championships.

Fellow Singaporeans Victoria Chan (74 points) and Elizabeth Yin (80 points) are the leaders in the Women's category.

The competition will finish today.