China's Sun Yang claims silver in his first race of year

The first day of the inaugural leg of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) Champions Swim Series provided thrilling battles in the pool as Chinese star Sun Yang went on to win a silver medal after making his first appearance of the year in the men's 200-meter freestyle in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, on Tuesday.

Reigning Olympic and world champion Sun was in lane three with Lithuania's Danas Rapsys in lane two at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Center.

Sun got off to a decent start, but found himself in third place when they rose to the surface. However the Chinese powered ahead and by the time they made the second turn at 100 meters, he was at the front of the four.

China's Sun Yang competes during the FINA Champions Swim Series men's 200-meter freestyle event in Shenzhen, south China, January 14, 2020.

But Rapsys refused to fade and the final 50 meters turned into a breath-taking battle between the two and it was Rapsys who touched the wall first in a time of one minute, 46.50 seconds. The home favorite claimed the silver medal in his first race of the year after being edged by 0.03 seconds.

Sun remarked later, "I think I did better on some details and I have made great progress in my start. I didn't prepare much for the race and I just regard it as training, I'm satisfied with the result as I haven't raced for a long time."

China's Liu Yaxin (L) starts her 200-meter backstroke swimming on her way to win a gold medal during the FINA Champions Swim Series in Shenzhen, south China, January 14, 2020.

In the women's 200-meter backstroke, Liu Yaxin, who was in lane three and only managed to come 16th at the World Championships last year, controlled the race from the 100-meter mark on and touched home in two minutes, 10.34 seconds in front of Hungarian Katinka Hosszu.

And in the women's 200-meter breaststroke, the duel between Yu Jingyao and Ye Shiwen ended in Yu's favor as she won in two minutes, 24.64 seconds.

Meanwhile, in the men's 100-meter backstroke, Xu Jiayu also proved his credentials. The 2017 and 2019 world champion claimed a gold medal in 53.01 seconds.

China's Xu Jiayu (L) wins a gold medal in the FINA Champions Swim Series men's 100-meter backstroke event in Shenzhen, south China, January 14, 2020.

Wang Shun was the fourth Chinese winner of the session, with a comfortable victory in the men's 200-meter individual medley in one minute, 57.76 seconds.

In the women's 50-meter backstroke, world record holder Liu Xiang won a fifth gold for China in 27.36 seconds.