Injuried Liu Xiang, the most famed Chinese track star, hoped to return to the world sports arena next June, by starting training in kneeling position.

"If everything goes all right, Liu will back to the competition track next June," said his coach Sun Haiping at Liu's personal website, "He's already recovered 80 percent and even tried to clear some hurdles on Tuesday when seeing his women peers training."

"After a steady recovery, Liu is still capable of running to 12.88 or 12.87 seconds," said Sun with confidence.

Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang takes part in a training session in Shanghai, Sept. 23, 2008. This is Liu's first public training after he pulled out of the men's 110 meters hurdles because of injuries in Beijing Olympic Games on Aug. 18, 2008. [Xinhua]

At the Beijing Olympics, Liu's archrival Cuban Dayron Robles, 21, won the men's 110m hurdles title in 12.93 seconds, the second fastest time in Olympic history but 0.06 seconds slower than his own world record of 12.87 set in June.

On August 18 in the Bird Nest national stadium, Liu, the former world record holder, pulled out of the Olympics in his 110m hurdles with an aggravated Achilles tendon injury.

During a training session on Wednesday, open to the media for the first time, Liu held onto a steel handrail, streched out his left leg, with a thick sponge cushion under his right knee, in a kneeling position.

"It's more challenging in kneeling than in standing," said coach Sun, holding Liu's right knee and the cushion with sweat beads soaking through their T-shirts of both hurdler Liu and his coach in less than 10 minutes.

"Only three days after August 18, we already started training, of course in a minor recovery manner," Sun said, adding that Liu nowadays trained in either kneeling or sitting positions instead of standing.

"I'm recovering," said the 25-year-old Liu who won the gold in the Athens Olympics in 12.91 seconds and went on to break the world record in 2007 in a time of 12.88, "But I couldn't run fast now and I don't want to hasten to return to action."

For his chronic injury, the final treatment plan has not yet been made, and Liu is scheduled to be monitored separately by doctors in Beijing and the United States next month.

Coach Sun said he was more open to a conservative treatment as an operation might cause ever-lasting impairment to the tendon, and "I am confident that Liu will recover 90 percent if he receives a conservative treatment," said Sun.

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2008)