BUDAPEST, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese swimming ace Sun Yang kicked off his defending campaign at the 17th FINA World Championships by qualifying for the men's 400m freestyle final here on Sunday.
Sun, runner-up in the discipline at last year's Rio Olympic Games, clocked 3:44.55 to finish second in the heat. The top position went to Austrian swimmer Felix Aubock, who finished at 3:44.19.
"I felt OK in the morning and I took the heats as a warm-up. I will try my best in the final but I did not set any goal for the evening," said Sun.
Sun's main rival Mack Horton, the Olympic champion in Rio, ranked fifth with 3:45.60. Park Taehwan of South Korea also went through the heat on fourth at 3:45.57.
Sun's teammate Qi Ziao, however, failed to make it to the final as he ranked 25th in the heat.
The men's 400m free final takes place later on Sunday.
