Tokyo:Kim Min-seop achieved his first individual Asian Games swimming medal by earning a bronze in the men's 200-meter butterfly event.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim completed the race in 155.94, narrowly surpassing Wang Xizhe of China by one-hundredth of a second. The gold medal was claimed by Wang Kuan-hung from Chinese Taipei with a time of 155.05, while Xu Fang of China took the silver with a time of 155.65.

Earlier in the competition, Kim had won a silver medal in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay and a bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay, contributing in the heats. During the butterfly final, Kim was in second place at the 100m mark and maintained a silver medal position with 50m remaining. However, his pace slowed towards the finish, resulting in a final split of 30.74 seconds, which was the sixth-slowest in the ten-man final.

Kim expressed his excitement about breaking into the 155 range for the first time since the 2024 Olympics, attributing his success to the support of his family and teammates. "When I saw the board and realized I won bronze by 0.01 second, I felt really lucky," he stated.

At 22 years old, Kim views this bronze medal as motivation for future competitions. He believes his personal best time could have earned him gold, and he aims to reach the podium at the world championships next year and the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.