Wang Shun was the first Chinese winner today as the Rio 2016 bronze medallist won the 200 metres individual medley final.

In the same event in the Brazilian city, Wang finished three seconds behind American Michael Phelps, but none of his continental rivals could prevent him from sealing victory as he touched the wall in a time of 1min 56.66sec.

Japan's Daiya Seto claimed silver in 1:57.80 while his compatriot Keita Sunama finished in third in 1:28.803.

Claiming a second Chinese gold medal was Xu Jiayu after he won the men's 100m backstroke final.

Xu, who narrowly missed out on a gold medal in this event at Rio 2016, finished in a time of 53.02sec.

Li Guangyuan secured a Chinese one-two in 54.30sec while Takeshi Kawamoto completed the podium after he finished third in 54.39sec.

The Chinese team were also successful in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay final after they finished in a time of 3:16.37.

Trailing behind in second were Japan who touched the wall almost a second behind their rivals in 3:17.25, while South Korea finished in bronze medal position in 3:18.80.

Success also followed for China in the women's races as they won a further two gold medals.

Hou Yawen was victorious in the 800m freestyle final in 8:26.49, almost nine seconds in front of her nearest rival, while Chen Jie completed the Chinese medal haul after a time of 2:08.98 was good enough to secure gold in the women's 200m backstroke final.

There were also two diving contests today where the gold medals were both won by Chinese competitors.

Huang Xiaohui and her partner Xu Zhihuan were dominant in the women's three metre synchronised springboard final.

They scored a total of 308.40 points throughout the competition, with second placed Mai Yasuda and Rin Kaneto of Japan finishing well behind in 250.11.

Completing the podium were sisters Choi Sut Kuan and Choi Sut Ian of Macau who took the bronze medal with a tally of 241.11.

Further Chinese success ensued in the diving pool as 18-year-old Yang Hao cruised to victory in the men's 10m platform final.

Yang amassed a total of 537.05 points which placed him at the top of the standings, almost 60 clear of his nearest rival.

China's Yang Jian finished in silver medal position on 477.80 while Taich Okajima of Japan completed the top three, well behind on 333.30.

Elsewhere, Japan were victorious in the men’s water polo gold medal match after they secured a 7-6 win over Kazakhstan, while China claimed the bronze medal after they overcame Iran 11-8.

The Japanese women’s team secured their spot in next year’s World Championships yesterday after thrashing Singapore 21-2 but the Chinese team came out on top with a 100 per cent record after a thrilling 10-7 win over the hosts today.