SINGAPORE - National canoeist Lim Yuan Yin has bagged a bronze medal in the women's C1500m race at the Asian Canoe Sprint Championships in Palembang on Thursday.

The 23-year-old clocked 2mins 27.291sec to finish behind Vietnam's Truong Thi Phuong (2:20.376) and Iran's Fatemah Karamjani (2:26.046) in the nine-boat final.

Lim is Singapore's first medallist at the continental meet since the 2003 edition in Bhopal, India, when Lim Ling Min and Tong Lee Ling won a bronze medal in the women's K2200m.

The continental meet also serves as an Olympic qualifier for next year's Rio de Janeiro Games. Only the winner of each event is guaranteed a spot in Brazil.

But for Lim, the Asian Championships medal is her biggest achievement in the sport so far. The Republic Polytechnic graduate only started canoeing last year.