INCHEON, South Korea -- Japan's Kosuke Hagino stole the thunder from one of swimming's biggest rivalries Sunday, winning the 200-meter freestyle final ahead of China's Olympic champion Sun Yang and South Korean star Park Tae-hwan.
Hagino won gold in 1:45.23, just ahead of Yang in 1:45.28 and Park 1:45.85. Just minutes later he raced again to take bronze in the 100 backstroke.
The 20-year-old swimmer had been something of a wild card in the 200, having finished second-fastest behind Sun in the morning heats. But he said his focus had merely been on giving Sun and Park some stiff competition and improving his personal best.
"I myself had thought before the race that this would be a race between two giant rivals. I didn't expect to win," Hagino said. "I'll now focus on the next race, the 400 free, when I can again compete with two great swimmers."
The win continues an excellent run of form that saw him beat Michael Phelps in the 200 medley at last month's Pan Pacific Championships in Australia, where he also won the 400 IM. Hagino will be competing in a total of six events at the Asian Games.
The race was the first of three showdowns between Sun and Park at the Asiad.
Sun said he'd hurt his thumb on the final turn, slowing his progress as the three headed into the finish neck-and-neck.
"I was happy with the first 150 meters, but on the last 50 I just couldn't do my best," said Sun, who said he would use the experience in his preparations for next year's world championships.
Park said he felt extra pressure, not only from the home crowd, but also because Incheon's aquatic center is named in his honor. He said the prospect of repeating his two previous 200-meter Asian Games wins was also a daunting prospect.
"I must admit I was feeling the pressure, but I'm still relatively happy with the bronze," he said.
Though Sun had vowed to dominate Park, the two are about as evenly matched as two swimmers can be.
Park won the 200 at the last two Asian Games, part of a total haul of six Asiad golds, and holds the Asian Games record of 1:44.80. While the pair tied for silver in the 200 at the London Olympics two years ago -- the last time the two raced -- Sun holds the Asian record of 1:44.47 and won the event at last year's World Championships, a meet that Park skipped.
The two are also due to meet in the 400-, and 1,500-meter freestyle events.
Along with the 200-, 400-, and 1,500-meter freestyle world titles he won last year, Sun's trophy case holds two golds, one silver and one bronze won at the 2012 London Olympics, where he became the first Chinese man to win an individual Olympic swimming gold.
Sun also holds the world record in the 1,500 and won the event at the Asian Games four years ago in Guangzhou, China, where Park won gold in the 100, 200 and 400 freestyle finals.
In other races, Japan's Irie Ryosuke took gold in the men's 100 meter backstroke with a time of 52.34, followed by China's Xu Jiayu in 52.81 and Hagino with 53.71 in his second appearance of the night.
China's Shi Jinglin won the women's 100 breaststroke in a new Asian Games record time of 1:06.67. She was followed by Japan's Kanako Watanabe in 1:06.80 and China's He Yun in 1:08.11.
Japan's Daiya Seto won the men's 200 butterfly in 1:54.08, with teammate Kenta Hirai second in 1:55.47 and Singapore's Joseph Isaac Schooling taking bronze in 1:57.54.
In the women's 400 freestyle, China's Zhang Yuhan took gold in 4:07.67, with teammate Bi Yirong collecting silver in 4:08.23 and Japan's Chihiro Igarashi bronze in 4:09.35.
The women's 4x100 freestyle relay was won by the Chinese team anchored by 18-year-old Olympic gold medalist Ye Shiwen in 3:37.25, followed by Japan 2.10 seconds behind and Hong Kong in 3:39.94.
