SINGAPORE - Swimmer Toh Wei Soong booked his spot in the final of the men's S7 400m freestyle after clocking 5min 3.82sec in his Paralympics debut on Sunday (Aug 29).

Toh, who has transverse myelitis, a condition caused by the inflammation of the spinal cord, finished third in his heat at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. He was the seventh-fastest qualifier for the nine-man final.

The 22-year-old was happy to make his debut at the quadrennial Games and "can't wait to see what happens this evening" in the final. He also noted that he did not feel a lot of pressure coming into the Tokyo Paralympics.

He told the Olympic Information Service: "It feels really good. I think the experiences of the Commonwealth Games, Asian Para Games and World Championships have prepared me for a meet of this scale and the main philosophy with which I'm entering this competition is just to have a good time.

"Any athlete would like to win a medal. That's not something you want to put aside as a dream. But to me, I'm just here to have a good time because when you start thinking about small stuff... because it's not going to be perfect; you might cause yourself some unnecessary stress."

World record holder Mark Malyar of Israel was the fastest qualifier, clocking a new Paralympic record of 4:41.82. The final takes place later on Sunday.

Toh will also compete in the men's S7 50m freestyle and men's S7 50m butterfly on Tuesday and Friday respectively.