The 20-year-old, who won gold in the previous SEA Games, clocked 2:03.77s to erase the old mark of 2:03.86s set in 2016 by Lim Ching Hwang at the Bahamas Championships.

Hoe Yean, however, could only bag the bronze medal behind Taiwan’s Wang Hsing Hao (2:01.50s) and Namibia’s Wantenaar Ronan Zuberg (2:03.64s).

He was thrilled to have set a new national mark on home soil and is determined to break the record again.

“My goal was just to do my best. I didn’t realise I had broken the national record until others told me about it.

“It’s good because it raises the bar. I hope I can clock a faster time next because the difference (between the winner and me) was only a few seconds. I hope to continue in the same vein tomorrow,” he said.

He also won gold in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay with Dhuha Zulfikry, Farhan Andi Maro and Jayden Tan but ended up fourth in the men’s 100m freestyle.