Hometown hero Liu still battling Achilles injury

SHANGHAI - Still trying to get fully fit after his Achilles injury, China's star hurdler, Liu Xiang, has shrugged off any expectations of a sterling performance at the second stop of the IAAF Diamond League on Sunday in his hometown of Shanghai.

In a pre-race press conference on Friday, the 26-year-old Athens Olympic gold medalist in the 110-meter hurdles said his aim this weekend was a modest time of 13.50 seconds, more than half a second slower than his personal record of 12.88 set in Switzerland in 2006.

"Right now I am far from my best condition," said Liu. "Though the operation on my foot went pretty well, it still pains me when I increase my training.