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.

The 20-year-old Hagino had been something of a wildcard in the race, having finished second-fastest behind Sun in the morning heats.

The win continues a successful run 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 six events at the Asian Games.

The race was the first of three showdowns between Sun and Park at the Asiad.

Though Sun has 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 heats, Japan’s Irie Ryosuke was fastest in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 53.87, followed by China’s Xu Jiayu at 54.60 and Hagino, who won his second heat of the morning in 54.86. Xu exploded on to the scene when he broke three Chinese records at the May nationals and is ranked fastest in the world this year in the 100.

Japan’s Daiya Seto was first through to the men’s 200 butterfly final with a time of 1:57.18, with teammate Kenta Hirai next at 1:59.74 followed by China’s Hao Yun at 1:59.76.

China’s Bi Yirong set the pace in the women’s 400 freestyle, winning her heat in a time of 4:12.27. Teammate Zhang Yuhan was next fastest at 4:12.82 followed by Japan’s Chihiro Igarashi at 4:14.29. (AP)