Liu Xiang to meet Robles in World Indoor Champs

Olympic hurdling champion Liu Xiang of China will run his first race of the year in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar in March, sina.com.cn reports.

Liu Xiang (L), athlete of men's 110 meters hurdles race, raises leg  in cooperating with his trainer Sun Haiping during the first open  winter training session of the China's national team of track and  field, at the Xingzhuang Training Base, in Shanghai, east China, on  Dec. 29, 2009.[Photo:OSports Photo Agency]

The Chinese star is expected to compete against one of his toughest challengers, Dayron Robles, in the 60-meter hurdles.

Liu had competed in the biennial indoor athletics tournament for three times. In the 2008 championships, he beat American Allen Johnson to win the gold medal in the 60-meters hurdling competition in Valencia.

Liu Xiang's personal best in the event is 7.42 seconds.

The 26-year-old Olympic champion in men's 110-meter hurdles returned to the sport from a serious foot injury last September, and won a gold medal in the Asian Athletics Championships.

Robles, the Cuban hurdling specialist, dominated the European indoor track in 2008 by winning seven out of eight races.

He set a personal best of 7.33 seconds in Germany's Dusseldorf in 2008, 0.03 second slower than world record set by Briton Colin Jackson.

Robles failed to reach the final of the 110-meter hurdles in last year's world championships in Berlin. He pulled up injured after hitting the first three hurdles in his semifinal heat.