Chinese young guns starting to fire

Usain Bolt, left, of Jamaica and Su Bingtian of China compete in the men's 100 metres semifinal at the 15th IAAF World Championships at the National Stadium in Beijing, August 23, 2015. Wei Xiaohao / China Daily

Three days short of his 26th birthday, Su is humble when comparisons are drawn with Liu.

"I don't want to be hailed as the second Liu or whatever. He is irreplaceable," Su said. "For me, I just focus on doing my best in training and racing, otherwise nothing will last long."

The rise of this new generation of Chinese track and field athletes has attracted global attention.

US sprint star Justin Gatlin marvels at Su's progress.

"He's set an example for Chinese sprinters to be able to take on the world ... and be able hopefully to dominate and show pride for their country," said Gatlin, who won the 2004 Athens Olympics 100m.

Su is not alone in shouldering the nation's ambitions at the world championships.

For the first time, three Chinese athletes, headed by national record holder Li Jinzhe, qualified for the men's long jump final.

Li, who jumped a personal best of 8.47m at an international meet in Germany in June last year to smash the previous national mark, is regarded as somewhat of a maverick thanks to his outgoing personality, earrings and red-dyed hair.

The 25-year-old is now training with renowned US coach Randall Huntington, the former mentor of world record holder Mike Powell.

"I think our generation is a lot different from our predecessors. We are more independent in our thinking and more active in showing off our character," said Li, who failed to shine in Tuesday's final, finishing in fifth place.

Li's teammate Wang Jianan gave local fans a reason to cheer by winning the bronze medal.

Wang also becomes the first male athlete from Asia to stand on the long jump podium at a world championships.

Talented high jumper Zhang Guowei, who cleared a personal-best 2.38m to finish second at the Oregon Diamond League meet in May, is also poised to make his country proud.

The final of the men's high jump will take place on Aug 30.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn

Li Jinzhe of China competes in the men's long jump qualification during the 15th IAAF World Championships at the National Stadium in Beijing, August 24, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]