Sun says will miss rival Park at world championships

Park, his nation's first Olympic swimming medallist, was banned for 18 months after failing a doping test and will not become eligible to swim again until March next year.

Park won 400 metres freestyle gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and is one of the few swimmers to post a credible threat to Sun's title defence in the distance.

Sun booked his place for Kazan with easy wins in the 200 and 400 freestyle at national championships over the weekend and backed Park, despite his ban.

"I think I will miss him," Sun, Olympic 400 and 1,500m freestyle champion, told Chinese media at the meeting.

"He is my idol in swimming and I know him very well.

"A lot of people question him, and some even doubt his previous results, but I always trust him.

"He is a great swimmer like Japan's Kosuke Kitajima, who made history for Asian swimming."

The 1,500m world record holder, Sun was also suspended for a doping offence last year but served a much lighter, three-month penalty, which Chinese authorities kept under wraps until it was exposed after he had competed at the Asian Games in Incheon.

Sun, who will defend his 400, 800 and 1,500m freestyle crowns at Kazan, may face his biggest threat from Japanese iron-man Kosuke Hagino, who won the national 200 and 400m titles recently.

Australia's 18-year-old sensation Mack Horton, who set a new age record in winning the national 1,500m title last week, could also push Sun in the long-distance swim.