Hong Kong, China swimmer Natalie Kan produced a breakthrough performance on Wednesday, racing to bronze in the women’s 100-metre butterfly at the Asian Games for her first individual medal at the continental showcase.

Competing at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in her third Asian Games, Kan touched the wall in 58.05 seconds.

The result also broke the Hong Kong record previously held by Siobhan Haughey.

China’s Yu Yiting took gold in 56.41 seconds, edging out teammate Zhang Yufei, the Asia and Games record-holder, who finished in 56.44.

Zhang led through the opening 50 metres, with Yu chasing behind and South Korea’s An Se Hyeon sitting third.

After the halfway mark, however, Yu overtook Zhang to seize gold, while Kan powered past An to claim the final spot on the podium.

Fellow Hong Kong, China swimmer Yeung Hoi-ching finished ninth in one minute and 0.55 seconds.

After the race, Kan said in a TV interview that she is still processing her results and that it came as a surprise.

"I am going to go back to my hotel room tonight to process all this. I actually won the bronze medal. I know the people around me are proud of me, so I need to be proud of myself too," she said.

In regards to beating the Hong Kong record, she said the results show that she can keep improving.

Kan thanked her coach and her supporters for trusting her.

"To be honest, I depend a lot on the people around me to give me encouragement because the expectations I have for myself are too high. When I don't have a lot of confidence, I will rely on the people around me," she said.


Edited by Aaron Tam