Chinese superstar hurdler Liu Xiang will be desperate to prove he is still a force on the international stage at the World Championships as Bahrain and Qatar go head to head in a fascinating battle for Asian supremacy in middle and long-distance events.
The former 110m hurdles world record holder – who has for many years been the pin-up boy of Chinese athletics – looms large over Asian track and field and won the World title in 2007 in Osaka.
Liu, who also won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, suffered heartbreak when he was forced to withdraw from his heat at the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of an Achilles tendon injury.
Now the 28-year-old, admitting time is running out for him, is targeting the London Games in 2012 as his last Olympics as he seeks once again to find the magic that made him the world’s best.
Liu, one of China’s top sporting stars, thrilled his millions of supporters with victory in May’s Shanghai Diamond League meeting in an impressive 13.07s.
Last month, he won his fourth Asian Athletics Championships gold. But standing in the way are American David Oliver, who recovered from his disappointment at losing to Liu in Shanghai to beat him the following month in Eugene, Oregon, running 12.94s (Liu was second in 13.00) and world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba.
Liu’s time of 12.88sec in 2006 remains the second fastest in history behind Robles’ record 12.87 and he has not given up on gold next year.
“I was crowned in the Athens Olympics, but I am still eager to (become) champion in London,” said Liu, dubbed the “Flying Man” in China.
Away from the spotlight on Liu, a fascinating duel on the track is likely to unfold between Bahrain and Qatar in the middle and long-distance track events.
The strength of the powerful Ethiopians and Kenyans could make the performances of Asian athletes something of a sideshow, but both nations go to Daegu with serious hopes of making an impact.
At November’s Asian Games in Guangzhou, Bahrain and Qatar completely dominated the men’s long-distance track events, taking all six medals on offer in the 5,000m and 10,000m with Bahrain’s Ali Hasan Mahboob winning the 5,000 and Bilisuma Shugi Gelassa, also running for Bahrain, first in the 10,000.
All six were born in Africa, highlighting the ongoing controversy of athletes switching to run under the flag of a borrowed nationality. Mahboob also won the 10,000m at last month’s Asian Athletics Championships in Japan, ahead of Gelassa, while team-mate Dejenee Mootumaa took 5,000m gold.
Bahrain’s women won the 1500m, 5,000m and 10,000m crowns. Defending women’s 1500m world champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal, the Ethiopian-born athlete now running for Bahrain, has a shot at gold in Daegu having run the two fastest times this year in the event, with a quickest mark of 4min 0.33sec.
Asia’s other champions in Berlin in 2009 were Yusuf Saad Kamel (1500m), who runs for Bahrain, and China’s women’s marathon champion Bai Xue.
In the men’s high jump, Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim cleared an impressive 2.35 metres at last month’s Asian championships to position himself as a medal hope.
