Guangzhou : China's pin-up boy and 110m world record holder feels that his maturity can see him back to where he belongs in the near future.
"I am 27 and much more mature now than before. This medal bodes me well and I think I can be back to where I belong," Liu Xiang told media after Wednesday night's run that fetched him a record third Asian Games gold medal at a packed Aoti Stadium.
Liu finished in a time of 13.09secs — his best showing for this season — and then trained his eyes on the 2012 London Olympics to recapture his past glory.
"I believe I can do it [win the Olympic gold medal] said after he blazed home ahead of teammate Shi Dongpeng, his conqueror in May's Diamond League meet held in Shanghai, and South Korea's Park Tae-yong in third.
"I know it is easy to say ‘I can', even though the process might be more difficult than it looks now. But I believe that with time I still have the power to do it. No matter if I can get the Olympic gold or not, I'll try my very best," said Liu, who surrendered his world record in June 2008 when Cuba's Dayron Robles ran the distance in 12.87secs.
Liu rose to fame as China's first major track star when he won Olympic gold in Athens 2004, but experienced a fall from grace four years later when he limped out of the Birds Nest in Beijing with an Achilles tendon injury before the heats of his signature event.
Major event
Since then the Achilles injury has plagued the athlete despite undergoing surgery in the US shortly after the 2008 Beijing Games.
Wednesday's win was his first major one on home soil since that fateful day in Beijing when a packed stadium heaved a uniform breath of silence leaving millions of his fans shell-shocked.
He made his comeback run in March this year, managing only a seventh place at the world indoor championships in the shorter 60m hurdles. Two months later, Liu pocketed the bronze at the Diamond League meet in his hometown Shanghai where he was beaten by American David Oliver (12.99secs) and teammate Shi Dongpeng.
However, on a cool breezy Wednesday evening, Liu did what he knows to do best as he finished with a fast time of 13.09secs, thereby endorsing his dominance on the bigger stage.
"I didn't expect to finish in such a good time. I had thought that a time of 13.30secs would be enough for me to win the medal," Xiang admitted. "There is still a gap between my current form and how I was at my peak, but I have time to improve. I believe I can run inside 13 seconds and I am confident I can get back to my peak form," he added.
