Liu Xiang will compete at the Shanghai leg of the Diamond League at Shanghai Stadium on May 19 before heading for the London Olympic Games.

Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang will be hoping to make up for the disappointment of Beijing Olympics by running under 13 seconds at the London Olympic Games in July-August, his coach Sun Haiping said yesterday.

Liu was forced to pull out of the Beijing Games four years ago due to Achilles injury.

The Shanghai native, who will turn 29 this summer, began the season with indoor competitions in Birmingham, England, and at the world indoors in Istanbul, Turkey, and is now preparing for the outdoor season. He and his coach Sun spoke to reporters ahead of the 2012 Samsung Diamond League Shanghai, which is scheduled for May 19.

"Liu gained lot of experience from the indoor competitions in Europe, which got him both the best and worst results," Sun said.

"His start has improved a lot. Of course we cannot say it is faultless, there are still some problems that need to be resolved," Sun said. "But we can say that after Turkey, his seven-step startup run has basically taken shape and he is ready."

Liu finished second in the 60-meter hurdles at the world indoor championships in Istanbul.

Sun said Liu had been working on his new starting technique since last year - from eight to seven strides approaching the first hurdle - and while he had more or less perfected that, it was the last 5 hurdles that he needed to focus more.

"The first half and the later half of the 110-meter hurdles should be balanced for a good result," Sun said. "If Liu can maintain the current level of his start and run the later five hurdles on the level before he was injured, then the result should be good."

Sun even predicted the results of the men's 110m hurdles winner in London.

"Any athlete who finishes within 13 seconds will win a medal," Sun said. "The gold medal winner should get around 12.90 seconds."

Liu was working towards that goal but he still had occasional fallouts from his old injury, but it was not affecting his training. "There is still one problem and it is that once the intensity is quite great, he still has some kind of reaction (from his old injury)," Sun said.

"But with our team being able to manage quite well in controlling this injury, preventing new injuries and his rehabilitation, Liu Xiang's training is basically not being affected."

The former Olympic and world champion will defend his title in front of home fans at the Diamond League in Shanghai against Americans David Oliver and Jason Richardson.

Talking about the coming meet in Shanghai and probably one of the few warm-ups before London, Liu said he would rather concentrate on his own strengths than worry about his opponents.

"I feel that everyone who comes here are guests. But those who come to compete (on the tracks) will not be friendly," Liu said.

"But the main thing is that I am competing against myself. They have their strengths and I have mine."

Besides Liu, Oliver and Richardson, seven other top athletes have confirmed their participation for the Shanghai leg of the Diamond League, local organizer said yesterday.

Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell, last year's 100m winner here, as well as the world's two fastest women sprinters - Veronica Campbell from Jamaica and Carmelita Jeter from the US - are also coming.

Andreas Thorkildsen, the 2004 and 2008 Olympic javelin champion from Norway, will be gunning for gold this time after settling for silver last year.

Tickets will be available from April 9 and the prices remain unchanged - from 60 yuan to 1,380 yuan.