Tokyo: South Korea picked up one silver and two bronze medals on the first day of swimming at the Asian Games in Japan on Sunday, marking a solid start for the country in its quest to replicate its past success from three years ago.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim Young-beom and Hwang Sun-woo shared the podium in the men's 100-meter freestyle at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, securing silver and bronze respectively behind Pan Zhanle of China. Kim clocked 47.65 seconds and Hwang finished in 47.79, while Pan touched the pad in 47.61.

In the men's 100m backstroke, Lee Ju-ho earned his third consecutive bronze with a time of 53.94 seconds. Xu Jiayu of China claimed the gold in 51.98, with Hidekazu Takehara of Japan taking silver with 53.93.

Elsewhere, South Korea narrowly missed podium finishes with a series of fourth-place results. Kim Yun-hui finished fourth in the women's 200m butterfly in 2:09.81, just 0.14 second behind the bronze medalist, Misa Okuzono of Japan. Kim Min-suk ended up in fourth in the men's 200m individual medley with a time of 1:59.69, as China's Wang Shun secured the bronze in 1:57.14.

In the women's 1,500m, Kim Chae-yun finished fourth in 16:31.87, more than 25 seconds behind the bronze medalist, Ichika Kajimoto of Japan. The day's final event, the women's 4x100m freestyle relay, saw South Korea's Lee Song-eun, Jo Hyun-ju, Hur Yeon-kyung, and Kim Yun-hui record a combined time of 3:40.26, placing them fourth. Japan secured bronze with a time of 3:39.09.

South Korea, which won 22 medals at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, including six golds, hopes to continue its strong performance. Tokyo is hosting all swimming races for the Asian Games, while Nagoya serves as the main host city.

Looking ahead, South Korea aims to defend its titles in two events on Monday: the men's 50m freestyle with Ji Yu-chan and the men's 4x200m freestyle relay, featuring Hwang, Kim Young-beom, Kim Woo-min, and Lee Ho-joon, as they face off against rivals from China and Japan.