China's butterfly queen, Liu Zige, struggled in her strongest event, the women's 200m, finishing fourth at the FINA World Cup on Wednesday.

Choi Hye-ra of South Korea took the gold in 2 minutes, 3.65 seconds, followed by Anna Martina Granstroem of Sweden and Jessicah Lee Schipper of Australia.

For Liu, the event's gold medalist at the 2008 Olympics, it was a first stab at recovering from a disappointing season.

"The result is just like what I expected before the race," said Liu, who finished in 2:06.77. "Competing in this race is just a test for me to find out in which aspects I have to improve."

Liu is not China's only hope at the Water Cube. Jiao Liuyang and Zhao Jing both finished in 59.50 to win the gold medal in the women's 100m individual medley.