Kazakhstan's Vladislav Polyakov poses with his gold medal following the award ceremony for the men's 50m breaststroke swimming finals at the 15th Asian Games in Doha December 3, 2006.[Reuters]

Athens Olympian Vladislav Polyakov said he would like a podium finish in the Beijing Olympic Games less than two years away after he overcame Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima to win the 50m breaststroke in Asiad here on Sunday.

Polyakov brought Kazakhstan the only second swimming gold in Asian Games history and the first here, pulling off the 50m breaststroke title in 28.29 seconds before Kitajima, who bagged silver with nine hundredths of a second behind.

The 23-year-old marketing major from the University of Alabama said he was proud to win for his country and has planned to do well in the Beijing Olympics.

"In Athens I was new and nobody knew me. I was surprised that I was qualified for the final and finished fifth," said the 23-year- old Polyakov, who came fifth in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke in the 2004 Olympics when Kitajima triumphed in both events.

"In Beijing, I will try to win a medal but the competition is very tough with Brendan Hanson, the world record holder in 100m and 200m," he said. "But I look forward to a podium finish."

"Everyone knows that it will be a high competition," he added.