One more hurdle

(From left to right) 110m hurdlers Jason Richardson and David Oliver of the US, Liu Xiang of China and Aries Merritt of the US pose for a photo after a press conference ahead of Shanghai's Diamond League athletics meet in Shanghai on Friday. Chinese superstar Liu faces a huge test of his Olympic credentials when he lines up against reigning world champion Richardson at the event on Saturday. [Photo by Cui Meng / China Daily]

Liu Xiang will tune up for the Olympics against some of the world's best, Lei Lei reports from Shanghai.

Before he gets to the London Olympic Games in two months, China's star hurdler Liu Xiang must prove himself among a first-class lineup on home soil, at the 2012 Diamond League in Shanghai on Saturday night.

In the star-studded men's 110m hurdles, Liu will compete with three elite hurdlers from the US: Reigning world champion Jason Richardson; reigning indoor world champion Aries Merritt; and David Oliver, the bronze medalist at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Liu, the defending champion, says he is ready.

"All the runners are strong in Shanghai and I hope everyone can perform at his best form," Liu said on Friday.

"I hope we can put on a high-level race here. No matter who wins, everybody will be successful."

In last year's controversial final at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, where Liu's arm tangled with that of Cuban Dayron Robles, Richardson was the beneficiary, lifting a surprise gold.

At the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Merritt beat Liu to win the men's 60m title.

Oliver will pose a challenge too - he was the fastest in the world in 2010 at 12.89 sec. The three American hurdlers just arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday from the Daegu Championships Meeting.

In Daegu, Merritt emerged to win in 13.21, followed by Oliver in 13.22 and Richardson in 13.34.

Although world record holder Robles won't be in Shanghai, Liu believes the race will be a fierce one.

"Saying my only rival is myself is a way to encourage myself and give myself more confidence to focus on the race, but who stands by me on the track really matters a lot," Liu said.

"When high-level runners gather together, it will boost the results."

Liu was asked about his rivalry with Robles, especially their clash in the final in Daegu. Liu said their relationship was "even closer".

"A tough rivalry pushes you to even better performances," he said, adding he understood Robles was experiencing some injury problems. "I hope he is better soon and we can compete together in the Olympic Games."

According to the weather report, the race will be a wet one. Although Liu is experienced in the rain, he was cautious about predicting his result.

"I plan to try all out in the race and my form and performance matter as much as the result," said Liu, who just won a wet race in Kawasaki, Japan in 13.09 sec, the world's second best result this season.

"I haven't thought of the time I will finish in. I will know it when I finish the race," Liu said.

Liu's coach, Sun Haiping, also remained cautious.

"All the finalists are strong," Sun said. "The Americans flew a long way to South Korea, but after these days, they should have adjusted well. So, the competition will be really fierce on Saturday.

"For Liu, the result is not that important. This Shanghai event, plus the race in Eugene (Oregon) later, are all intensive training classes for him. The result is not that important, but how well he performs is. Our ultimate goal is for him to run in his best form at the London Olympics."

Like Liu, Merritt has recently adopted a seven-step approach to the first hurdle.

"It's been very successful," Merritt said of the change. "It paved the way for a gold medal in Istanbul and a personal best (13.03) in Arkansas. It's going really well."

The IAAF's website contributed to this report.