Chinese star Liu Xiang powered his way to a third straight 110-metre hurdle national championship today, winning unchallenged in a time of 13.34 seconds. The 2004 Athens Olympic champion showed that his recovery from Achilles tendon surgery is on track, thrilling up to 60 000 fans at the Olympic Sports Centre.

"I didn't think it was possible to run a really good time, I just tried to run my own race," an elated Liu said at the finish line. "It's great to win (a third national title)... I first won eight years ago and now I'm 26. For a Chinese athlete, no matter the Olympic Games or the National Games, for me this was the first time to fulfill my dream."

The Shanghai star got out of the blocks fast at the 11th Chinese National Games, taking a quick lead over his two closest rivals, Ji Wei, who finished second in 13.42 seconds and Shi Dongpeng, who came in third with a time of 13.63. It was Liu's first title since pulling out of the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of injury, but the time was well off his personal best of 12.88 seconds and the world record of 12.87.

Last month at his first post-surgery competition, at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, Liu ran a wind-aided 13.15 seconds for second place behind world number two Terrence Trammell, who clocked an identical time. Liu's star power pulled in a sell-out crowd of nearly 60 000 fans on Sunday. Over 3 000 journalists were also on hand to witness his win today.

Liu's coach Sun Donghai said this week that Liu is currently not in top shape and will need several months of intensive training if he hopes to regain his previous form. Following this weekend's races, Liu is slated to appear in the Asian Athletics Championship in southern China's Guangzhou in November and the East Asian Games in Hong Kong in December. - Sapa