(Beijing May 24) Despite jumping the gun in the first start, Athens Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China clocked 13.18 seconds to win the men's 110m hurdles at the "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 China Athletics Open tonight.

The star hurdler, who had produced a false start in the semifinal, failed again on getting off the mark today. According to his coach Sun Haiping, Liu could hardly acclimatize himself to the firing pace by the local referee after a batch of competitions abroad.

Liu managed to postpone his reaction in the second start and emerged victorious without a final dash, 13.18.

"Although it's a test event, I've been well prepared for that and I hope it (the "Bird's Nest") becomes the second place where my dreams begin," Liu noted after winning the title.