Injured Liu vs Terrifying opponent

By Lei Lei (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-18 08:12

Dayron Robles of Cuba (left) and Liu Xiang of China competing in different 110m hurdles events. AFP

China's sporting superstar Liu Xiang has vowed he can beat his main rival for the 110m hurdles despite a long-term hamstring injury.

The defending Olympic champion will be up against Cuba's Dayron Robles - who he describes as a "terrifying opponent"- in separate hurdles heats today.

Robles, 21, has already wrested Liu's world record, sharing a hundredth of a second off the Chinese athlete's best time with a scorching 12.87 seconds in June. He has also lost only one of his last eight races in his run in to the Olympics.

Liu, who has been absent from international competition for most of the year, insists he can still overcome the Cuban. "From an overall comparison, he is stronger than me. It is clear he is the best hurdler out of everyone coming to the Beijing Games but I still believe I can beat him. I am at that level now," he says.

But he concedes he will have his work cut out because of his lack of fitness.

"He is a natural born hurdler and a terrifying opponent," he said.

Liu's coach Sun Haiping admits it will be a tough fight for him to emulate his Athen's gold. "Liu's injury has been diagnosed as something wrong with his hamstring, but not with the bone," said Sun. "It is an accumulated injury due to long training and it will affect him if he uses power."

"It won't cause problems for the heats, but I'm worried about the semifinals and the final."

To better prepare for the competition, Liu and his coach moved into the Olympic Village on Saturday.

"Liu has had to train intensively these days to compensate for what he lost by not competing much before the Olympics," added Sun.

The 25-year-old Shanghai Bullet not only has to deal with his injury but the high expectations of the home crowd.

Liu's gold medal at the Athens Games in 2004 was China's first Olympic sprint victory and instantly made him one of the country's most popular athletes.

He was the first Chinese athlete to achieve the "triple crown" of athletics, that of world record holder and world and Olympic champion.

His images are everywhere in China, where he is even more popular than world famous basketball player Yao Ming.

Liu's parents are under as much pressure as their son. "We feel as anxious as any parents would if their child was facing such a tough test," Liu's father, Liu Xuegen, said.

Liu's mother Ji Fenhua said her biggest fear is that her son will suffer leg cramps from training too hard. She said she calls him every day and tells him to be extra careful,

Liu's teammates, Shi Dongpeng and Ji Wei will also try to stay in contention during today's heats.

(China Daily 08/18/2008 page19)