Liu Xiang is the Olympic champion and world record holder. He was glad to run a better time than expected to break the Asian Games record, with a time of 13.15, at the Doha Asian Games.
    "It was a very good result. I did not expect to come in under 13.20. My original targe was to just break the previous record 13.27. I thought maybe 13.25 or 13.24 would be the winning time," said a confident Liu.
    Even Liu's rivals admire his dominance of Asian track and field.
    "Liu Xiang is the best athlete here. He is so fast that everyone else is just coming to fight for the silver," said Essa, who came sixth.
    "I was trying to catch up with him, but it was hard. He is my idol and I am watching. Actually we are very good friends."
    Liu's overwhelming speed also helped push second-placed Shi.
    "In Asia, there are no challengers. Shi is the second best in the area. I congratulated him right after the match. Also thanks to his tight chase behind me, I dared not slow down too much during the competition. So that is the reason I got a 13.15 result," Liu said.
    The Liu held a national flag and ran a lap around the stadium, waving to supporting fans, mostly Chinese.
    After a short vacation, Liu will start preparing for the world championships in Japan in August.
    "I will try to get a better result than at the last championships," said Liu, who settled for a silver at last tournament（锦标赛） in Helsinki（赫尔辛基）.
(from:http://www.enfang.com/english/2006-12/6220.htm)