EX-NATIONAL hurdler Ishtiaq Mobarak strongly believes Asia can continue to produce more athletes like former 110m hurdles world record holder Liu Xiang of China in the future.
Despite the level of competition in the sport on the world stage having increased tremendously in recent years, Ishtiaq said there is no reason why Asia could not produce another athlete in the mould of Liu.
"At the moment the level of the sport (the 110m hurdles) is of a very high standard and the number of athletes who can dip below 13 seconds is significant," said the 64-year-old who is currently the national back-up (Pelapis) coach for hurdles.
"It is not easy to produce another athlete like Liu. However, besides countries like China, Japan and Korea, nations like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan also have the potential to produce outstanding talent.
"Even here, we have a number of teenagers, who despite their young age, are already at Sea Games standard and have great potential."
Isthiaq, who competed in the 1968 Mexico, 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Olympics, however, believes Liu will have a hard time making an impact on the Olympics should he be able to compete again.
"It was a pity to see what happened to him (in London) as he is one of the top hurdlers in the world and had a chance of doing well. Ironically, his great rival, Dayron Robles (Cuba) also crashed out in the final on Tuesday.
"I think he (Liu) can still compete in Brazil in 2016 but it will be hard for him to be a contender as the depth in quality in the hurdles is so high at the moment and will continue to improve," said Ishtiaq.
Ishtiaq, who was the fastest Asian in the Olympic Games during his run to the semi-finals in Montreal 1976, is one of the Olympians featured in NSTP's "Honouring Our Olympians -- A Visual Tribute" ongoing exhibition at Bangsar Shopping Centre.
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