China's wunderkind Pan Zhanle has put the swimming world on notice after breaking the men's 100m freestyle Asian record on the opening day of the National Championships. 

The 18-year-old, who finished fourth in the event at the 2022 World Championships last year, clocked a time of 47.22 seconds in Hangzhou on Monday, slicing 0.34 seconds off the previous record, set by South Korean Hwang Sunwoo at the Tokyo Olympic Games. 

"I'm quite surprised by my performance today," said Pan. "I never anticipated that I would be able to complete the race in just 47.22 seconds." 

The result meant Pan has now become the 11th fastest men's 100m freestyler of all time and dethroned current world record holder David Popovici to claim the top spot in the latest world rankings.

When asked about his future ambitions, Pan said, "As an athlete, my ultimate goal is to reach the very top echelons of my sport. I hope one day I will have the chance to compete against Popovich and see how I measure up against him." 

"Looking ahead, I will continue to work hard and strive for success, with the goal of achieving great results at the upcoming Asian Games, and ultimately pushing myself to even greater heights at the [Paris] Olympics." 

Meanwhile, Olympic champion Zhang Yufei scored a time of 2:07.99 to clinch the gold in the women's 200m butterfly. But the 25-year-old was not pleased with her performance. 

"Regrettably, I was unable to deliver my best result in this event due to certain physical constraints," she observed.  

"Nevertheless, I'm resolute in my determination to produce results that truly satisfy me at both the forthcoming World Championships and Asian Games." 

Later in the day, another Olympic champion Wang Shun put up a time of 1:55.55 to emerge triumphant in the men's 200m medley final.  

"It's an incredible feeling to have the chance to compete in my hometown," said Wang, who was born in Zhejiang Province. "As I gear up for my fourth appearance at the Asian Games, my goal is to put on a great show and do my country proud."