Malaysia's new swimming ace Khiew Hoe Yean can enjoy the satisfaction of winning a heat and emerging as the top finisher from Southeast Asia at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest.
Hoe Yean clocked 1:48.37s to win heat 4 of the men's 200m freestyle event yesterday.
He was ranked 25th overall in the field, missing a semi-final berth by nine spots.
Hoe Yean, who won the gold in this event at the Hanoi Sea Games last month, did not come close to breaking Welson Sim's national record of 1:47.36 set in 2017 but had the satisfaction of finishing ahead of Singapore's Glen Lim Jun Wei (35th, 1:49.94) and Vietnam's Hoang Quy Phuoc (44th, 1:52.47).
Hoe Yean made a superb start to his world meet campaign when he smashed Welson's national record in the 400m freestyle on Saturday.
The Kuala Lumpur-born clocked 3:48.72 to place 15th overall in the heats, demolishing the national record of 3:49.29 set by Welson in Australia in 2019.
Hoe Yean will be back in action on Wednesday in the men's 200m backstroke.
Goh Chia Tong, 19, meanwhile, capped her debut swim in the world meet by finishing 25th overall in the women's 1,500m freestyle heats in 17:33.03.