Tang Qianting highlighted the first day of the China Open Swimming Championships and National Spring Swimming Championships, claiming the women's 50-meter breaststroke title and twice breaking her own Asian record in the event on Thursday in Shenzhen.

After lowering the continental mark in the heats, the Chinese swimmer reset the standard again in the final. Tang, who admitted she had been under the weather in recent days and was still not at full strength, led from the start and touched the wall first in 29.44 seconds to top the podium.

In the men's 200-meter freestyle, the field included domestic stars Pan Zhanle and Zhang Zhanshuo, along with Germany's 400-meter freestyle world record holder Lukas Martens. Zhang gradually assumed control after the start and extended his lead as the race proceeded. He finished first in a personal best time of 1:44.53. Martens placed second and Pan ended up fifth in 1:46.74.

The youthful Chinese duo of 13‑year‑old Yu Zidi and 15‑year‑old Chang Mohan engaged in a fierce battle with the USA's Regan Smith in the women's 200-meter butterfly. Yu took charge after the first 50 meters and held on to win, clocking a big personal best of 2:05.71.

In the women's 800m freestyle, China's Li Bingjie and Yang Peiqi joined Australia's Lani Pallister to form a leading group until the final 100 meters. Li then pulled clear to grab top honors in 8:16.27.

Elsewhere, Wan Letian won the women's 50-meter backstroke, while Xu Fang prevailed in the men's 200-meter butterfly.