Liu Xiang raises the bar for Stockholm

Liu Xiang of China jumps the last hurdle to win the 60 metres hurdle final during the Aviva Grand Pix at the NIA Arena on February 18, 2012 in Birmingham, England.

China's hurdler Liu Xiang said Wednesday that he hoped to have a better performance than he did in Birmingham at the coming Stockholm indoor tournament.

"I hope I will beat (Dayron) Robles this time. I don't know how fast it's going to be exactly but I will try my best as it will also be a preparation for the World Indoor Championships. I hope to have a good warm-up," said Liu at a press conference.

Last Saturday, Liu won the men's 60m hurdle final in 7.41 seconds at the Birmingham indoor tournament, setting a new Asian record.

And yet there was still room to improve the speed-up from the start to the first two hurdles and the sprint part also, said Liu.

When asked if he was now good at seven-step before the first hurdle, Liu said there was still a distance between Robles of Cuba and himself. He would like to ask for some advice from Robles on handling the first five hurdles. Meanwhile he considered the change from eight-step to seven-step as a great success.

Robles, the arch rival of Liu, said that he would try his best to prove his ability at the Stockholm indoor tournament on Thursday as it would be the last warm-up game before the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Indoor Championships.