South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan bounced back from his disappointing performance at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro by claiming the gold medal in the men’s 200 metres freestyle ©Getty Images

Controversial South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan bounced back from his disappointing performance at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro by claiming the gold medal in the men’s 200 metres freestyle at the Asian Swimming Championships at the Tatsumi International Swimming Center in Tokyo. 

The Beijing 2008 Olympic 400m gold medallist endured a tumultuous build-up to Rio 2016 after he was cleared to compete just a month before the event.

Park, who failed to make a final at the Olympics, had initially been prevented from competing as part of a Korean Olympic Committee ruling, which forbids athletes from representing any national team for three years after a doping suspension.

He got the ban overturned, however, after successfully appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The 26-year-old, one of South Korea’s household sporting names, was banned in 2014 after testing positive for the anabolic steroid testosterone and served an 18-month suspension.

He made partial amends for his display at Rio 2016 by clocking 1min 45.16sec – a time which would have been enough for the Olympic silver medal at Rio 2016 - to clinch the Asian title at the 

Wang Shun of China secured the silver medal in the 200m freestyle, with bronze going the way of Katsuhiro Matsumoto of Japan.

Japan's Rio 2016 bronze medallist Daiya Seto won the men’s 400m individual medley as he touched the wall in 4:10.17, finishing in front of Chinese duo Wang and Mao Feilian.

Japanese record holder Rikako Ikee was unable to deliver success for the home nation, however, as she was narrowly beaten by China’s Zhu Mengui's championship record time of 53.44sec in the final of the women’s 100m freestyle.

China’s Shen Duo added to the nation’s impressive tally from the first day of swimming action at the event by sealing the bronze medal.

Japan's Daiya Seto won the men’s 400m individual medley at the Asian Championships in Tokyo ©Getty Images
Japan's Daiya Seto won the men’s 400m individual medley at the Asian Championships in Tokyo ©Getty Images

The Chinese team enjoyed further glory in the women’s 10m platform diving event as Si Yajie, silver medallist at Rio 2016, scored 366.70 points to pip compatriot Lian Jie, who managed 349.20.

Japan's Minami Itahashi earned the bronze medal.

Japan’s men’s water polo team made light work of quarter-final opponents Hong Kong with a comprehensive 21-2 victory.

The result saw them set up a last four meeting with Iran, who overcame Saudi Arabia 15-6.

The other semi-final contest is due to be between China and Kazakhstan.

China defeated Singapore 11-3, while the Kazakh outfit thrashed the Philippines 23-3.

In the women’s event, which features a single group, China were the star performers as they beat Hong Kong 21-1.

Kazkahstan emerged victorious from their clash with Uzbekistan, recording a 15-4 triumph, while Thailand overcame Singapore 14-6.

Action in the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games host city is due to continue tomorrow.