Xu Jiayu and Yu Yiting broke Asian records in the men’s 50m backstroke and women’s 200m individual medley, respectively, on the second night of China’s National Swimming Championships.

Veteran Sun Yang also starred, giving his 4x200m freestyle team a healthy lead on their way to victory.

The six-day event in Hangzhou, which serves as the selection trial for the Nagoya Asian Games, saw seven gold medals decided on Wednesday.

In the men’s 50m backstroke final, 30-year-old Zhejiang swimmer Xu clocked 23.92 seconds. He became the first Asian athlete to break the 24-second barrier, shattering the continental record.

“I told Wang Zicheng yesterday that I wanted to see what it’s like to swim under 24 seconds. He said, ‘Brother Jiayu, don’t scare me’,” Xu said after the final, having achieved his goal.

Hubei’s Wang Zicheng took silver with a personal best of 24.47 seconds, while Heilongjiang’s Wang Gukailai took bronze.