Japanese Kosuke Kitajima lost only one stroke here on Monday, and promised to take another classical clash with his American arch-rival Brendan Hansen at the World Championships.

Dual Olympic champion Kitajima, finishing first in both the preliminary and semifinals, seemed to take a sweet in the men's 100 meters breaststroke final.

However, the world record holder Hansen, who dethroned Kitajima at the Montreal World Championships two years ago, defended his title by touching the wall first at 59.80 seconds.

"He (Hansen) is very strong. If he does his best, it's going tobe very tough for me to beat him. But today I was only one stroke behind him," said Kitajima after receiving the silver by a margin of 0.16 seconds.

Although the 24-year-old Japanese star felt a little bit frustrated after seeing the results, he swam to Hansen and shook hands with the winner.

"That's my way of showing my respect. I can't speak English so I went up to him."

But the duel between the two breaststroke specialists hasn't ended yet.

"I could compete with him (Hansen) at the same level. It means in the 200 meters race we will compete again at the same level. I have the confidence," said Kitajima.

The 25-year-old Hansen also showed respect to Kitajima.

"He brings out the best in me and I bring out the best in him. That was definitely a battle, but it's a healthy rivalry."

The men's 200 meters breaststroke final is going to be held on Friday. Hansen was also the defending champion and world record holder in the event.

Kitajima won the event at the 2003 Barcelona World Championships and the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. But he astonishingly failed to swim into the final two years ago.

Source: Xinhua