CHENGDU, China, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Zhanshuo withdrew from the men's 200m freestyle final at China's National Swimming Championships with an arm injury here on Sunday.

The 18-year-old set a new men's 400m freestyle world junior record with a time of 3 minutes and 42.99 seconds on Friday, improving his previous best by almost two seconds. Zhang currently ranks third among Chinese swimmers in history in the 400m freestyle, behind only Olympic champion Sun Yang (3:40.14) and world champion Zhang Lin (3:41.35).

Zhang Zhanshuo finished third in the 200m freestyle semifinal but was forced to withdraw from the final. He also pulled out of the men's 200m butterfly semifinal.

The rising star had aimed to push his limits at the Nationals by entering seven events: the 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyle; the 200m and 400m individual medley; and the 200m butterfly.

"I feel like I have made up for the disappointment at the World Championships and also achieved a goal I've been working toward for years," Zhang said. At the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, he placed fifth in the 400m freestyle and failed to make the 200m freestyle final. However, Zhang contributed to China's silver medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay, where the team - also comprising Pan Zhanle, Ji Xinjie and Wang Shun - broke the Asian record.

Without Zhang in the 200m freestyle final on Sunday, Ji claimed the gold with a time of 1:46.48.

"As a veteran athlete, maintaining a good mindset is important. Instead of blindly playing it safe or chasing victory, what's even more difficult is to keep a calm and balanced attitude. I can accept whatever level I perform at, and I think I did well in this regard," Ji said.

Most of the top swimmers have already qualified for China's National Games, so for them, the National Swimming Championships - a qualification event for the National Games - serves as more of a training opportunity. Freestyle star Pan competed only in the 50m and 100m butterfly events this time, while butterfly specialist Zhang Yufei only swam the women's 400m freestyle on Friday. Medley swimmer Wang Shun participated in the men's 100m breaststroke on Saturday.

Veteran Xu Jiayu only registered for the men's 50m backstroke in his main event, focusing most of his energy on the 100m and 200m freestyle instead, while Qin Haiyang and Li Bingjie skipped the meet altogether. ■