HANGZHOU, China: Chinese breaststroke world champion Qin Haiyang made a stunning performance in the 100m breaststroke heats, shattering the Asian Games record as he surged into the final.
Qin, who won gold at the world championships in Fukuoka earlier this year in the absence of British swimmer Adam Peaty, aims to replicate his clean sweep of breaststroke titles at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
In the heats, Qin displayed his prowess by touching the wall in 58.35 seconds, surpassing the previous Games record set by Japan’s Yasuhiro Koseki in 2018. His performance left South Korea’s Choi Dong-yeol trailing by a significant 1.55 seconds.
Qin Haiyang had already secured a silver medal in the 200m medley, where he finished second to the dominant Olympic champion, Wang Shun. Wang’s impressive time of 1:54.62 not only set a new Asian record but also established him as the third-fastest man in history, following swimming legends Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.
China, the host nation, continued its strong showing in the pool, winning seven gold medals on the opening day of competition, which also saw several Asian records being set.
Siobhan Haughey, representing Hong Kong, qualified for the 200m final, aiming to secure Hong Kong’s first-ever Asian Games swimming gold. Haughey, who missed the 2018 Asiad due to injury, has since become one of the world’s top freestyle swimmers. She earned silver at the Tokyo Olympics and a silver in Fukuoka over 100m.
In other notable performances, China’s Xu Jiayu, who had already won gold in the 100m backstroke, qualified as the fastest swimmer in the 50m backstroke with a time of 24.99. China’s Wang Xueer led the women’s 50m backstroke field into the final with a time of 27.59, and South Korea’s Ji Yuchan was the fastest in the men’s 50m freestyle with a time of 21.84.
Chinese teenager Pan Zhanle also impressed by making the 50m freestyle final, a day after setting a new Asian record of 46.97 in the 100m freestyle. This achievement made him one of only five men in history to break the 47-second barrier.
Lastly, China’s Yu Yiting led the way in the women’s 200m medley heats with a time of 2:14.02, following her bronze medal performance in Fukuoka.
