Asian rivalry burning brighter

The rivalry between Chinese and Japanese swimmers at the short-course world championships foreshadows an intense pool battle at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Tuesday's opening night of the 25m worlds in Hangzhou provided no shortage of thrills with a string of world and continental records shattered, but it was the battle between the host and its main Asian rival that stole the show in and out of the pool.

At the center of the spotlight was Japanese men's medley specialist Daiya Seto, who edged South Africa's Chad Le Clos and China's Li Zhuhao to set a new short-course world record of 1min, 48.24sec in the 200m butterfly.