A Chinese sports expert here on Sunday insisted that judging from their training methods, the men's 110 meters hurdles defending champion Liu Xiang is more likely than his arch rival Cuba's Dayron Robles to grab gold in the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games.

Li Jie, head of Guangdong Provincial Institute of Sports Science, said at a forum that Liu Xiang and Robles adopted different training methods.

According to his views, Robles tries to maintain his good form through attending matches one after another. However, no matter how energetic he is, he may feel fatigue after a series of intensive competitions.

"In the past, Chinese athletes always had to undergo very intensive training which has side effects, such as injuries, " Li said.

Some advanced training methods have been worked out and introduced in recent years to improve the training efficiency for Chinese athletes, so as to reduce the possibility of being injured," he said.

Also on Sunday, a Cuban delegation media official told a Xinhua reporter at the Olympic Village in Beijing that he supposed Liu Xiang would be under heavier pressure than Robles, as Liu will attend the competition on home soil this time and has to face high expectations from the audience.

Furthermore, the 110m hurdles final is a competition for eight hurdlers, not for two. Perhaps, one minor mistake can spoil their chance to reach the last eight.

He also disclosed that Robles may come to Beijing around Aug. 8. The men's 110m final will be held on Aug. 17.

(Xinhua News Agency August 4, 2008)