File photo of Joseph Schooling swimming in a butterfly event. (Photo: AFP) 

SINGAPORE: Singapore Olympic champion Joseph Schooling beat his own Asian and national record in the men's 50m butterfly semi-finals at the FINA World Championships on Sunday (Jul 23). 

Schooling clocked 22.93s on Sunday night Singapore time, re-writing his own record of 23.05s set in the heats earlier that day. The time is also a personal best for the 22-year-old, who finished third in his semi-final race and fifth overall across both semi-finals.

United States' Caeleb Remel Dressel topped the overall semi-final rankings with a time of 22.76s, while Ukraine's Andrii Govorov (22.77s) and Brazil's Nicholas Santos (22.84s) placed second and third respectively.

The 50m butterfly is one of two events that Schooling has set his sights on to win in Budapest, along with his pet event the 100m butterfly. The 50m butterfly final is scheduled to take place on Monday night from 11.30pm onwards (Singapore time).

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