Liu Xiang gearing up for Osaka meet

"I am looking for another win to make it my fourth consecutive championship," declared the determined Olympic champion, who has won the Osaka Grand Prix three times.

Liu Xiang (L) from China hit the finish line during the 60 meters hurdles competition during the track and field meeting at the indoor arena in Karlsruhe, Germany on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007. Liu clocked 7.42 seconds and broke the Asian record to score a sweet revenge to his arch rival Dayron Robles (second from left) of Cuba, who beat him earlier February in Stuttgart, Germany. The 2007 IAAF grand prix outdoor meet takes starts on May 5, and is seen as a dress rehearsal for August's world championships in the same city.

Liu was scheduled to have outdoor training three or four times this week at his usual training base in Shanghai. But coach Sun Haiping told him to shorten his training schedule and have a rest because Liu is doing better than Sun expected.

"Although Liu will be training less, it is much more effective, "said Sun. "He runs better than my expectations."

Liu usually trains indoors, but because the Osaka meet is outdoors, he will have to get accustomed to running outside as it may affect him psychologically. "There should be few technical adjustments so I'm not too concerned," the coach added.

But Sun's major concern is Liu's plethora of obligations to sponsors.

Liu became a phenomenon in China after his sensational performance at the Athens Olympics, and he is hot property among advertisers.

But Liu says he would rather train than shoot commercials.

"The race is very important to me. And I want to perform well before the World Championships in August, so my aim is to be in good form by then," Liu added.

"They [commercials] affect my training regime", he said. "Maybe making commercials is not as intense as training, but it's always taking longer than I expect. I don't think I could become an actor. It is torturous."

The absence of such rivals as Cuba's Dayron Robles, who had beat the Chinese star in the same event in Stuttgart, will not be competing in the May track meet, which means there is no strong rivals against Liu. But the 110-meter hurdler said compatriot Shi Dongpeng, another competitive Chinese hurdler is his best opponent.