Chinese 12-year-old Yu Zidi set for world stage after stunning swims

Beijing: Chinese 12 year old swimming sensation Yu Zidi could be the brightest young star at this year s world championships after producing a string...

Beijing: Chinese 12-year-old swimming sensation Yu Zidi could be the brightest young star at this year's world championships after producing a string of eye-popping performances this week.

Yu, in her striking "doggy" swim cap, rounded off a sensational China national swimming championships in Shenzhen by winning the women's 400m individual medley by almost two seconds on Saturday.

Roared on by packed crowds in the southern city which borders Hong Kong, Yu crushed a quality field in a lifetime best 4min 35.53sec.

Yu's time was comfortably inside the world qualifying standard of 4:43.06, the fifth fastest time of the year and would have been good enough for fourth place at the Paris Olympics.

Second was Chang Mohan, who touched more than a body length adrift in 4:37.33, followed by Li Bingjie in 4:38.66.