No Hong Kong athlete managed to secure Asian Games selection but there was more to like than not from a trio of encouraging World Triathlon Cup performances in Chengdu on Saturday.

Oscar Coggins delivered the best swim and run legs of his career but had to settle for 41st despite finishing just 66 seconds behind winner Luke Willian.

In the women’s race, Bailee Brown was also 41st, with Tallulah Wright seven places back; efforts that Andrew Wright, the head coach, said showed the pair had made “night-and-day progress” from this time last year.

Hilda Choi Yan-yin was 57th, having narrowly missed a large bike group out of the water. Top 20 had been the requirement to bank selection for September’s Games in what doubled as Hong Kong’s first selection race, but Andrew Wright, who pulls no punches when he sees fit, was unequivocally upbeat.

“I’m very positive, and I think the athletes are, too,” he said. “The beauty of this weekend is that we haven’t yet done much race-specific work. Being competitive, and running and swimming those times, after mainly base training is a really good sign.”

Coggins was with a large leading group throughout the swim and bike before he covered the 5km run in 15 minutes and five seconds. The top 38 finishers all dipped beneath 15 minutes.