Asia Inc

THE pressure on world record holder and Olympic gold medallist Liu Xiang, 24, must be unimaginable when the hopes and aspirations of 1.3 billion people rest on his shoulders and he has to perform in front of a home crowd.

But Liu, 24, is taking it all in his stride. “I hope the Bird’s Nest will be a place of my second dream,” Liu told the official Xinhua news agency after winning the 110m hurdles gold at the Good Luck Beijing 2008 China Athletics Open in May, explaining that’s where he would love to receive his second Olympic gold. “I love the noise of crowds in the stadium and even more noise at the Olympics would make me more excited,” he added. Now, that’s what it takes to be a winner.

China’s pretty diving queen always looks good, whether in McDonald’s ads or twisting in air above the 3m springboard. In the Athens 2004 Olympics, Guo took home two golds — one for the 3m women’s synchronised springboard with compatriot Wu Minxia and another for the 3m women’s springboard. This year, the 27-year-old from Hebei is expected to go all out for gold again as this would be her last Olympics. Mainland and Hong Kong tabloids have linked her romantically with fellow diver Tian Liang and even Kenneth Fok, playboy grandson of Hong Kong business tycoon Henry Fok, so there’s still plenty of paparazzi photos of Guo to see after she retires.