Liu Xiang steps up world title bid with new start technique

BEIJING: Former Olympic champion Liu Xiang has prepared a new start technique he hopes will help give him an edge ahead of his bid for a second 110m hurdles title at the Daegu world championships in South Korea.       

The Chinese, who swept the title in Osaka in 2007, will leap the first hurdle after seven steps instead of his usual eight, a technique he hopes could shave at least five-hundredths of a second off his times.