Asian hope on Liu, Murofushi

Those aside and Liu, the reigning Olympic 110m hurdles champion and world record holder, is the star of the show. He narrowly missed out on gold at the last worlds in Helsinki in 2005, with France8217;s Ladji Doucoure pipping him to the post with American Allen Johnson third, but he is fired up to put that disappointment behind him next week.

While victory is Liu8217;s ultimate goal, he will be keeping an eye on his Chinese friend and teammate Shi Dongpeng, who has taken giant strides to be ranked 18 in the event.

Murofushi is Asia8217;s other genuine gold medal contender, but the world number one hammer thrower has Ivan Tikhon of Belarus, the current world champion, and his teammate Vadim Devyatovsky to contend with.

The Japanese star, whose hammer throwing father Shigenobu was known as the 8216;Iron Man of Asia8217;, missed the last worlds due to persistent back problems and is determined to grab gold to the silver he won in 2001 and the bronze in 2003.

8220;There is pressure on me from the Japanese public and athletics fans to win at the World Championships but that8217;s ok. I like to throw under pressure,8221; Murofushi, the Olympic champion, said.

8220;But, from a Japanese perspective, it8217;s not just a question of gold medals or any particular medal. In Japan, it is very important how you compete and how you act as well, so I want to do my best in every respect when the world meet come around,8221; he added.

If he was to win, he would be the first Japanese gold medallist who is not a marathon runner.

Zhou Chunxiu is another possible gold medal winner after making history in April by becoming the first Chinese to win the London marathon, clocking 2hrs 20min 38sec ahead of Ethiopia8217;s Gete Wami and Romanian Constantina Tomescu-Dita.

The petite runner posted her best marathon time of 2:19.51 last year in Seoul, which was the second best time in the world in 2006, and also took the Asian Games title in December.

She finished fifth in Helsinki. Race walkers Liu Hong and Jiang Jing are also having solid seasons and could add to the Chinese medal kitty.