The Paralympics debutant, who started his heat in the third lane, finished third with a time of 1:16.33s at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

The 26-year-old athlete from Sarawak booked his slot in the final after occupying seventh place overall.

Only the best eight swimmers from the two qualifying heats today advance to the final.

Defending champion from Brazil Daniel Dias emerged the winner of the first heat after clocking 1:13.02s while yesterday’s men’s 200m freestyle (S5) silver medallist Antoni Ponce Bertran of Spain, came in second with a time of 1:13.33s.

The final is scheduled for 4pm today.

Yesterday, Nur Syaiful missed the opportunity to qualify for the final of the S5 men’s 200m freestyle event after his participation in the first heat was cancelled due to a technical error.

He had clocked 2:56.78s in his qualifier, which would have been a new Asian record.

The record is currently held by Thai swimmer Phuchit Aingchaiyaphum who recorded 2:58.11s in Australia last year.

Nur Syaiful later revealed that he had to patch an adhesive tape on his shoulder following an injury sustained on Saturday, before his participation was cancelled after being informed the use of the tape was not permitted.