Liu plays down expectations

Liu Xiang has admitted he is still struggling to regain the form which made him a world beater.

China's former Olympic 110m hurdles champion and world record holder is still struggling to fully recover from the Achilles injury which prevented him defending his title in Beijing two years ago.

Speaking ahead of today's IAAF Diamond League meeting, Liu knows it will be a hard, long road back to the days when he was virtually unbeatable despite having undergone a successful operation.

"Let us be frank. I am not in very good form these last few days," Liu said. "Of course, this is my home meeting so I hope to do my best and to use this opportunity to compete with all these world-class athletes."

Ryan Brathwaite, the surprise winner of last summer's World Championships in Berlin, is in a strong field which also includes David Oliver who currently leads the global rankings with a time of 13.11 seconds, although reigning world record holder Dayron Robles has withdrawn.

"My own expectation is to run about 13.50 and that's not enough to make the top three," added Liu. "I will try to keep up with the pace of my team-mate, Dongpeng Shi."

Liu says he is responding more positively now to treatment and added:

"The surgery has been successful but I am not able to do very intensive training at the moment because I suffer soreness and pain from the wound from time to time.

"I admit I am a person who fears pain and I don't like to feel it, but I am confident that I am ready to perform here."