There, he failed to reach the top 16 final in the 200 m individual medley, finishing in twenty-fourth place with a time of 2:06.39.

Swimming in heat three, he picked up a second seed by a 1.33-second margin behind winner George Bovell of Trinidad and Tobago in 2:06.01.

[5] He also held liable for an early takeoff in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, when his Uzbekistan team had been disqualified from the heats.

[6][7] Pukhnatiy shortened his program at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, when he swam only for the third time in the 200 m individual medley.

He cleared a FINA B-standard entry time of 2:07.49 from the Kazakhstan Open Championships in Almaty.