BEIJING, Aug 8, 2008 (AFP) - China’s national hero Liu Xiang is confident he can retain his Olympic 110m hurdles title by beating his biggest rival, Dayron Robles of Cuba.
He is a natural born hurdler and a terrifying opponent,'' Liu said of the man who dethroned him as the world record holder in June, shaving a hundredth of a second off his best with a time of 12.87sec. But I still believe I can beat him, I am at that level now,’’ said the 25-year-old who is expected to face off against Robles in the final on August 21 at the main Olympic Stadium.
Liu believe he has another advantage over the 21-year-old Cuban star.
He is younger than me and I have had the experience of the Athens Olympics,'' he told popular Chinese news portal Sina.com. The Olympics and other events are not the same. Including the final, you have four races in the Olympics and I know how to get the best out of myself during this process.’’
When Liu won the gold medal in Athens four years ago he shot to instant fame and fortune in China, becoming the country’s first male track gold medallist.
The pressure on him to repeat that feat is enormous but Liu says he simply does not feel it.
He moved into the Athletes Village on Tuesday, joining the rest of the Chinese Olympic team.
I am just living a normal life,'' he said. I don’t feel the pressure. I am already an Olympic champion and I feel that there is nothing difficult ahead of me and if I just relax I will come out champion again.’’