China’s 13-year-old Yu cruises as Asian Games swimming begins

Tokyo welcomed the start of the Asian Games swimming events on Sunday, with China's 13-year-old sensation Yu Zidi and Olympic champion Pan Zhanle leading the way. Yu, who became the youngest swimming world championships medallist in history last year, dominated her women's 200m butterfly heat, finishing with an impressive time of 2min 7.97sec.

This was 2.7 seconds faster than the second-fastest qualifier, Chinese teammate Chang Mohan. Yu, who will turn 14 in October, has already established herself as a formidable competitor, having claimed bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the world championships last year and finishing fourth in three individual events. Pan Zhanle, meanwhile, qualified for the men's 100m freestyle final with a time of 48.07 seconds, outpacing South Korea's Hwang Sun-woo.

The 22-year-old athlete, who won gold and set a world record at the Paris Olympics, expressed confidence for his upcoming match, stating that he believes he can perform even better. Pan acknowledged the significant change in his training and personal life since his Paris triumph last year, acknowledging that he is still adjusting to the new challenges.

Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita also demonstrated strong form, securing the fastest time in the men's 200m individual medley with a time of 1min 58.56sec. Japan is eager to improve their performance at the Asian Games, which are being held on their home turf, despite not achieving the same success in the swimming medals table as they did at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Despite the absence of pressure, Matsushita expressed his desire to showcase his best performance for the Japanese fans.