[Anchor]

Hwang Sun-woo, bidding for his second consecutive title in the 200m freestyle, narrowly missed out on the gold, settling for the silver medal. However, he will chase another gold medal today, September 24, in the 400m relay.

Reporting from Tokyo, here is Ha Seong-nyong.

[Reporter]

Competing alone in the 200m freestyle after Kim Woo-min withdrew due to a shoulder injury, Hwang advanced to the final as the second-fastest overall in the preliminaries. Taking a deep breath before stepping onto the starting block, he poured everything into the early stages of the race, aiming to become the first Korean to win back-to-back 200m freestyle titles in 16 years following Park Tae-hwan, SBS commentator.

Engaged in a fierce three-way battle with China's Zhang Zhanshuo and Japan's Murasawa, Hwang led the race through the 150-meter mark, but fell short in his finishing kick.

He was overtaken at the 170-meter mark by a charging Zhang Zhanshuo, ultimately touching the pad in second place with a time of 1:44.62.

Although his bid for consecutive gold medals fell just short, Hwang gave a thumbs-up to Zhang, who won the race while shaving 0.43 seconds off his own Asian record, showing respect to the winner as the two embraced and encouraged each other.

[Hwang Sun-woo / National Swimming Team Member : Crazy.]

[Hwang Sun-woo / National Swimming Team Member : I think I really raced like my life was on the line. Also, it feels like my final 50 meters collapsed quite a bit again this time, making me feel that I still have a long, long way to go.]

Hwang, a two-time champion at the Hangzhou Asian Games, concluded his individual events this time with a bronze in the 100m freestyle and a silver in the 200m freestyle.

[Hwang Sun-woo / National Swimming Team Member : It should have been a gold medal, ah. I feel like I've become a challenger again who has to break the (Asian record), so I will always keep challenging myself and train hard to reach the top spot and show you my best.]

The challenge is not over yet.

Hwang will once again pour his fighting spirit into today's final event, the 400m relay.

Meanwhile, the mixed 400m medley relay team won the bronze medal with a new national record.

Kim Young-beom, swimming the final leg, clinched his fourth medal, while Kim Seung-won claimed her third bronze following the women's 50m and 100m backstroke.

(Photo: Yonhap News) (Video by Park Hyun-chul | Video Editing by Oh Young-taek | Graphics by Park Tae-young)