World champion Liu Xiang won his first outdoor 110m hurdles race this year with a comfortable time of 13"14 at the 2007 Osaka World Athletics Tour on Saturday.

The win was Liu's fourth straight victory at the event and his fellowman Shi Dongpeng finished second with 13"24.

No athletes from the United States competed in the race, which pitted five Japanese athletes against three foreigners, including Liu and Shi.

A Japanese athlete jumped the gun at the start of the race, forcing a restart. Liu Xiang gained the lead after clearing the first three hurdles and successfully held his position all the way to the finishing line.

Liu said he plans to go all-out at the 11th IAAF Athletics World Championships, which will be held from 25 August to 2 September at the Nagai stadium.

The 24-year-old set a new hurdles world record when he completed his race in 12"88 in Lausanne, Switzerland last July, breaking the former record of 12"91 set by Britain's Colin Jackson in 1993.

(CRI May 6, 2007)