Track & field gains popularity despite Liu's retirement

Without China's greatest track and field star Liu Xiang, will the sport lose popularity in China?

The answer is clearly a "No" on Wednesday when spectators filled most of the 80,000 capacity 2008 Olympics main stadium "Bird's Nest", quite a scene for a small sport in China.

In the men's 110m hurdles, the Chinese fans may miss their one and only Olympic and world champion Liu, who once held the world record of 12.88 seconds.

Still, there are the promising stars to watch as host China fielded 45 athletes to the IAAF World Challenge series which had 17 events in Beijing.

What cheered up the Chinese fans the most was Zhang Guowei's victory in the men's high jump.

The 23-year-old clinched the title in 2.34 meters, just one hundredth of a meter shy of his personal best created last month in the United States.

On Wednesday, Zhang tried to challenge the national record of 2.39m in vain but he is already seen as the first one in 30 years able to raise China's high jump bar.

"It was a pity that I did not beat the 3.40 mark but I felt great thanks to the spectators. There are so many fans here and they are so enthusiastic. I think the atmosphere here is even better than at the London Olympics," said Zhang.

"Now I am looking forward to the world championships here," he added.

In the men's pole vault, Xue Changrui took a second gold for China clearing 5.40 meters.

However, the new generation of Chinese athletes also found out that they have a lot to improve to catch up with those at the very top.

Xie Wenju, under the guidance of Liu's coach Sun Haiping, still struggled to atone his mediocre form after the 24-year-old finished fourth in 13.47 seconds in Wednesday's final, a virtual repeat of the Shanghai Diamond League meet last Sunday. World champion David Oliver beat Cuban Orlando Ortega, again, 13.15 to 13.37.

In the men's 100m final, 26-year-old Su Bingtian pulled off a bronze and national record holder Zhang Peimeng finished fifth.

Su needed to improve his ability in the second half of the race while Zhang has yet to find his peak form.

Zhang asked for patience.

"In 2013, I was at my top form and last year I made some adjustment," said the 28-year-old who created the personal best of 10.00 in 2013 Moscow world championships.

"I believe I can bounce back to shape this year," he added.

The men's long jump hopeful Li Jinzhe failed to stand on the podium when the 2013 Beijing Challenge champion finished a disappointing fourth.

The Beijing native has been bothered by an ankle injury from the start of May which took its toll in Wednesday's final.

Aside from the Chinese athletes, international stars are another attraction to the Chinese fans.

As American sprinter Justin Gatlin quit the race citing injury, Jamaican Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown enjoyed more attention here. She won the women's 200m in 22.68.

World record holder Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland, making her 2015 debut at the IAAF World Challenge meeting, took an expected victory in women's hammer throw in 77.73 meters.

Her archrival Zhang Wenxiu of China, also making her season debut after cleared of doping, only finished sixth in 71.37.

In August, some of the athletes in Wednesday's Challenge will return to the Bird's Nest to compete in the world championships.

In their preparation, Beijing organizers of the world championships renovated the tracks and planned to cover the stadium with wireless internet.