Airtimes: Indian Standard Times

Saturday, April 8 at 0500am and 2030hrs

Sunday, April 9 at 0600am and 1830hrs

Olympic gold medal winner and national sporting hero Liu Xiang discusses his career, hopes for Chinese success in the 2008 Olympics and possible change to a career in acting in this week’s Talk Asia. Liu speaks with Stan Grant in Shanghai as part of CNN’s Eye On China week of special coverage.

Liu Xiang shot to fame as the first Chinese man to win an Olympic track and field gold medal after his victory in the 110 metre hurdles in Athens in 2004. “By winning, I achieved something for Asian athletes…I gave them the message that as long as we show dedication and belief, and as long as we give it our best, we can do anything”, he says.

As the 2008 Olympic Games near, Liu hopes that China “…can surpass America in winning gold medals and become number one. That should be possible as long as everyone works hard and have that goal.”

Beyond success on and off the track, the sportsman believes that life is about more than material satisfaction. He adds, “… a top athlete should get involved in many different things. We are all members of society and we should be active in it. If I detach myself from society, I would feel very lonely.”

In addition to speaking about his life as an athlete, Liu discusses his interests in the performing arts and examines the rumours on his possible career change to acting.

AIRTIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

For more program information and details on upcoming guests on TALK ASIA visit

http://edition.cnn.com/ASIA/talkasia/

For more details on CNN’s ‘Eye on China’ week of programming, go to www.cnn.com/china