Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey made a strong showing in her National Games debut in Shenzhen on Wednesday as she qualified for the semifinals of the women's 200 metres freestyle with the third fastest time overall.

The four-time Olympic medallist posted a time of one minute 58.98 seconds, leading her heat.

Haughey said she is not yet at her peak, after a break earlier in the year and recovery from a back injury.

“I’m satisfied with my performance. Because it’s just the heats, I knew finishing in the top three of my group gave me a great chance of advancing,” she said.

“I haven’t competed in a large-scale international event for several months, so I’m hoping to regain my routine. As I begin my other events at the Games, I hope to find my rhythm.”

Teammate Gilaine Ma also qualified, finishing with a time of two minutes 0.78 seconds, edging out Zhejiang’s Mao Yihan by 0.07 seconds to secure the final semifinal spot.

“I’m satisfied with how I performed. My result is close to my personal best time of two minutes 0.66 seconds,” Ma said.

“My goal is to swim close to my personal best or break my record. Since I don’t often join domestic competitions, I don’t really know how others perform, so I focus on my own race.”

However, Wang Xintong placed 46th and did not advance.

The women's 200 metres freestyle semifinals will take place at 8:04pm.

On the men’s side, Tsui Yik-ki, Adam Mak and Nicholas Cheung also moved on to the top 16 in the 50 metres breaststroke.

But Wang Yi-shun exited the 200 metres butterfly after finishing 40th overall.