China's Qin Haiyang continued his dominance in the pool at the World Aquatics Championships, clocking a time of 26.20 to set a new Asian record for the men's 50-meter breaststroke in the semifinal of the event on Tuesday. 

The 24-year-old rising star shaved 0.14 seconds off his previous Asian mark of 26.34, which was set in the preliminary round, and he is now considered the overwhelming favorite to win the much-anticipated final on Wednesday night. 

Earlier in the tournament, Qin bagged the gold medal in the men's 100m breaststroke. He set the second-fastest time in history behind Britain's world record holder Adam Peaty, finishing in 57.69 seconds.

Peaty, who has been in a class of his own in sprint breaststroke events for almost a decade, skipped the World Championships in Fukuoka to prioritize his mental health. The 28-year-old said he has been in a "self-destructive spiral" and has spoken previously about periods of depression and problems with alcohol. 

Later in the day, Qin's compatriot Xu Jiayu fell short of the podium, touching in 52.64 seconds and finishing in fourth place at the men's 100m backstroke final. America's Rio Olympic champion Ryan Murphy won the title in 52.22. 

Nevertheless, it represented a huge progress for Xu, who has endured a rough patch in recent years. In the last World Championships in Budapest, he only ranked 10th in the semifinals of the event, thus failing to advance to the finals.  

During the Tokyo Olympics, Xu's medical condition became a topic of concern when he suffered a bout of vomiting due to a stomach ulcer after completing the men's 100m backstroke preliminaries.

"Given my current age, it's unrealistic to go all-out in every competition," said Xu. "As some of you may recall, I ended up vomiting after a previous race, and I owe it to myself to take responsibility for my body and avoid pushing myself to such extremes.  

"It's enough to finish the race smoothly, and I shouldn't cause any unnecessary harm to my body." 

Despite not being in his best physical shape, Xu's performance in Fukuoka has already demonstrated his impressive comeback. 

"If my goal is to compete in the Paris Olympics, I need to take a long-term perspective and focus on building my skills and experience," he added. 

"For now, what's most important is to concentrate on honing my abilities."