Male swimmers keep China's swimming dream alive

Xu Jiayu of China competes in the men's 200m backstroke semifinals at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug 10, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Male swimmers from China have flown the Chinese swimming team's flag and kept its dream alive as almost all female players missed podium spots at the Rio Olympics.

Xu Jiayu and Li Guangyuan both booked spots in the men's 200m backstroke final, ranking fifth and sixth respectively in Wednesday's semifinals.

The 21-year-old Xu, who already claimed a silver medal in the men's 100m backstroke final to become China's first male Olympic backstroke medalist, swam into the 200m backstroke final with a fifth place, clocking 1.55.66.

Li Guangyuan of China competes in the men's 200m backstroke semifinals at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug 10, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Li Guangyuan, 19, got off to a slow start and managed to finish the semifinal race with a personal best time of 1.55.92, ranking sixth to make Thursday's final. He also broke his own world junior record.

In the men's 200m individual medley semifinal, Wang Shun ranked sixth to earn a final berth and set up a confrontation with the world's most decorated Olympian Michael Phelps and world champion Ryan Lochte, the strong favorites for the event.

The three are looking forward to earning a place on the podium despite their prevailing rivals from the USA, Australia and Canada. And it's also a big relief to see more Chinese male athletes in the swimming pool to refresh their records.