Olympic champion Liu Xiang has no plan to retire

Chinese hurdler and superstar Liu Xiang has no plan to retire and may compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, his coach Sun Haiping has said.

Liu is preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and is in good conditions. He has the potential to break world record next year if weather, wind and other conditions permit, Sun, who is in Beijing attending the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) as a delegate, said on the sidelines of the conference.

"Possible injuries and illnesses during Liu's training concern me most," said the coach.

Liu, world record holder of the men's 110m hurdles at 12.88 seconds, became a hero and youth idol in China after he won the first Olympic track and field gold for the Chinese male athletes in the 2004 Athens Games.

Liu will be 29 years old when the London Olympic Games comes.

Sun said that Liu Xiang would attend less commercial and social activities next year so as to get better prepared for the Beijing Olympic Games.

Liu Xiang, a CPC member, saw Sun Haiping off when Sun left for the CPC National Congress in Beijing.

Liu Xiang and Chinese basketball star Yao Ming have been included in the second edition of the Encyclopedia of China.

While delivering a political report at the opening of the CPC national congress on Monday, Hu Jintao appealed for the success of the 2008 Olympic Games.

(Xinhua)

Vocabulary:

the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China: 中国共产党第十七次全国代表大会