(Asiad) Swimmer all smiles on eve of 1st race

TOKYO, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- On the eve of his first race at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, swimmer Hwang Sun-woo seemed all giddy Saturday, like a kid about to go on a toy shopping spree, so pleased was he with his training session.

If Hwang can channel his exuberance into the pool here in the Japanese capital, the 23-year-old, already with six Asiad medals under his belt, may just go on a medal spree.

Hwang will begin his second Asian Games appearance in the men's 100-meter freestyle event at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Sunday, the first day of the medal race following Saturday evening's opening ceremony.

"Since the 100m is all about speed, I did some power training, and I felt great," Hwang said after his session. "This has been a pretty good day. I feel like I am at 99 percent and I will get that extra one percent before the race tomorrow."

Hwang is a former world champion in the 200m freestyle but the 100m has not been his forte. And on Sunday, Hwang will be up against a formidable foe in Pan Zhanle of China, the world record holder with 46.40 seconds.

Hwang's personal best is 47.56.

"Pan Zhanle is the world's fastest swimmer but I will do my best to keep pace with him tomorrow," Hwang said. "I think it is easier mentally to be the chaser rather than the chased. I will try to be relaxed and just give it my best shot tomorrow."

As for his specific strategy against Pan, Hwang said, "He is extremely fast right off the blocks and I can't afford to fall behind early. So I should try to get off to a fast start and then hang on later in the race."

While the central city of Nagoya is the main host, Tokyo Aquatics Centre, the swimming home of the 2021 Summer Olympics, will stage all swimming races from Sunday to next Saturday.

Hwang has some fond memories of the Tokyo venue, where he enjoyed his first international breakthrough at the 2021 Olympics.

Although Hwang did not win a medal then, he set an Asian record in the 100m freestyle and broke an 11-year national record in the 200m freestyle.

"Things have not changed much over the past five years. I felt great just walking into this arena again," Hwang said, beaming. "And I think that is why my training has been going so well. I have felt really light in the pool here, and I think it has a lot to do with how much I like this venue."