Britain's Olympic champion Joe Choong recorded 20 fencing wins on his way to progressing through qualifying in Albena ©Getty Images

Britain's reigning Olympic champion Joe Choong marked his return to international competition by progressing through men's qualifying at the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) World Cup in Albena.

Choong ranked joint fourth in the men's qualification round, scoring 1,160 points.

He topped the fencing ranking in Group A of qualifying with 20 wins earning 250 points, followed by a second-place finish in the 200 metres freestyle swimming with a time of 1min 59.90sec for 311 points.

A further 599 points followed in the laser-run with an 11:41.10 effort.

South Korea's Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Jun Woong-tae was one of four athletes who matched Choong's tally.

Their totals were exceeded by Bulgaria's home favourite Todor Mihalev, Egypt's Mohanad Shaban and Duilio Carrillo of Mexico, who all competed in Group B of qualifying.

South Korea's Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Jun Woong-tae scored 1,160 points in men's qualification at the UIPM World Cup ©Getty Images
South Korea's Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Jun Woong-tae scored 1,160 points in men's qualification at the UIPM World Cup ©Getty Images

Mihalev and Shaban both notched 1,164 points, one more than Carrillo.

Two-time individual world champion Valentin Belaud of France scored 1,158 in booking his place in the next stage of the World Cup.

In total, 36 athletes progressed into the semi-finals

Competition in Albena is due to continue tomorrow with the women's semi-finals, followed by the men's semi-finals on Friday (May 13).

Both individual finals are scheduled for Saturday (May 14), followed by the mixed relay on Sunday (May 15).