The Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic gold medallist claimed victory in the opening race of the regatta, before third and second place finishes saw the Argentinean end on a total of three points, with his worst score currently discarded. 

His closest rival is France’s Titouan Le Bosq, whose fourth, second and third place finishes saw him lie second on five points, with Brazil’s Brenno Francioli a further three points adrift.

"It is similar to the Youth Olympics, nearly the same guys with the same level,” said Birkner.

“We all know each other and everyone is together, I like it."

Russia’s Stefania Elfutina started the defence of her girl's title in superb style after ending as the runner-up in the opening two races, before securing a victory to top the leaderboard on three points.

She was joined on that tally by Xian Ting Huang, with the Chinese sailor’s discarded third place keeping her level with her rival in the early stages of the event.

Australian sailors enjoyed the best of the day’s action as they lead the standings in three classifications, with Alec Brodie and Xavier Winston Smith occupying first position in the boy’s 420 standings after winning both races contested.

Their compatriots Nia Jerwood and Lisa Smith share leadership of the girl’s 420 class with Poland’s Julia Szmit and Hanna Dzik on five points, after recovering from a tricky start where they ended fourth to claim a victory in the second race.

Alistair Young is the third Australian to start impressively as he holds a three-point advantage over the United States’ Nicolas Baird in the boy’s laser radial event, while Poland’s Magdalena Kwasna is currently in pole position on six points in the girl’s competition.

Kwasna’s team-mates Aleksandra Melzacka and Maja Micinska claimed two wins and have a seventh place discarded to lead the girl’s 29er on two points, while Norwegian brothers Tomas and Mads Mathisen share top spot in the boy’s competition with Romain Screve and Quinn Wilson on four points.

Due to a shipping delay the SL16 fleet were unable to race, with organisers hopeful the competitors will be able to catch up on the reserve day on January 1.

It is the latest issue to hit the Championships after the Israel Sailing Association withdrew its windsurfers in protest at conditions laid down by organisers and after they failed to receive visas for the event in Malaysia.

Israel’s sailors were told they would not be able to compete under their country’s flag and wouldn’t be able to bear any symbol or logo identifiable with the nation on their surfboards or clothes, it is claimed.

It is also alleged that organisers said that the Israeli national anthem would not be played if one of their competitors won a gold medal.