Bolt revels in China return, Liu aims to surprise

Published>Fri, May 21 10 10:47 PM

Jamaican triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt lapped up the attention on his return to China on Friday, while hometown hurdling hero Liu Xiang vowed to give fans a nice surprise.

Bolt, who won 100 and 200 metres gold at the Beijing Olympics in world record time, will run in the 200 in Shanghai on Sunday in the Diamond League's second meet of the season.

Clad in a pale blue and bronze t-shirt and baby blue jeans, Bolt aimed to put on a good show for the Chinese crowd but said a defeat could spice up world athletics.

"I am loving it, this is where I burst out," Bolt told a news conference. "I really enjoy the crowd here, there is a lot of support."

Earlier this week, the lanky Bolt clocked a time of 9.86 seconds in Daegu, South Korea, easily defeating compatriot Michael Frater with a time that was 0.28 seconds off his world record of 9.58.

However the Jamaican, making his first appearance in China since the 2008 Games, said he was not unbeatable.

"I have said it before, I can be beaten. I really work hard not to be," he said, adding that a defeat could even make the sport more interesting.

"I take everybody seriously as long as you are in the lane beside me."

'FIERCE MATCH'

Liu, a sporting icon in China with a profile rivaled only by basketball's Yao Ming, posed for photographs with Bolt and looked at ease in the full glare of the media spotlight.

The Chinese hurdler, wearing a lime green t-shirt, was in confident mood throughout the session and said he wanted to give his home supporters a good surprise in the 110 hurdles this weekend.

Liu devastated millions of Chinese when he limped out of the 2008 Olympics and admitted he was still not at his peak, predicting a time of 13.5 seconds.

Cuban Dayron Robles, the champion in Beijing, has already bettered Liu's 110 world record with a time of 12.87 seconds in Ostrava in June 2008.

The 26-year-old Liu is making his first outdoors appearance of the season and faces a stiff test in the form of world champion Ryan Brathwaite of Barbados.

"I am always competing against myself," Liu said. "The audience and the media want to see a fierce match, I am used to that."

The Achilles injury that caused him to limp out of Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium in August 2008 has continued to dog his performance. He finished seventh in the 60m final in Qatar in March.

Source: Web Search