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China's stars dominate at GamesBy Unus Alladin  Liu Xiang, right, sprinted to an easy victory in the 110-meter hurdles. RELATEDYOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- China will be remembered not so much for its dominance of the 2005 East Asian Games as by the performances of a handful of star athletes who stole the show. While most events were poorly attended and were played before mostly empty stands, the diving competition was jammed pack as spectators followed the ever move of multiple Olympic gold medallist, Guo Jingjing. The paparazzi was also out in force as they tried to catch the latest gossip of the diving diva, who didn't let the attention stop her from winning gold medals in the 1-meter springboard and the 3-meter synchronized springboard. And she won with embarrassing ease. Her performance not only established her reputation as the world's premier woman diver but also announced she was well and truly back after she was accused by Chinese diving officials of taking too much time off after winning two gold medals at last year's Athens Olympics. Guo took things into her stride and let her diving do the talking as she thrilled an audience with her flawless dives at the Macau Aquatic Center. "We have been training hard and we were facing a lot of pressure because everybody expected us to perform. I am happy with my dives. I am very serious about winning medals again in Beijing in 2008. We still have three years to prepare for it. There is no more time for partying. We must continue to train hard,'' said the 24-year-old Guo. While Guo thrilled audiences with her captivating grace and beauty, men's 110-meter (120-yard) hurdler, Liu Xiang, won the gold in a new Games record of 13.21 seconds. Liu ended the season on a high by grabbing top honors again just weeks after victories at the National Games last month, where he successfully defended his title and at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in September when he beat his rival, Allen Johnson. Liu was mobbed at the airport upon his arrival and remains popular as ever as one of the true Chinese stars of the Athens Games. Only a few thousand spectators turned out at Macau Stadium to watch the joint world record holder demolish his rivals in the final, although the 22-year-old Shanghai native said he was on track to defending his Olympic title in Beijing. "It's been an exhausting season and I have decided not to compete in so many events next year," Liu said. "It was an extremely demanding schedule. Of course, my main aim is to retain my Olympic title in Beijing." Liu and Guo's appearances in Macau were a boost for organizers who had managed to lure eight Chinese Olympic champions to the Games. "We decided to come to Macau because a lot of work had gone into staging this event and I didn't want to disappoint the organizers by skipping the event," Liu said. "I wanted to come here because Macau is part of China and it felt like home here." The trip to Macau also was worthwhile for Celtic defender Du Wei, who played a pivotal part in the mainland's gold medal triumph in the men's soccer competition. Du traveled from Scotland to join his teammates and his presence did wonders for the team as he captained his side to a 1-0 victory over North Korea in the final. China's only world record in the East Asian Games came in the weightlifting competition when Yang Lian lifted 117 kilograms (258 pounds) in the clean-and-jerk. Chinese weightlifters proved too strong for their rivals as they won the lion's share of medals. But spectators saw a few prospects for Beijing 2008, especially in the pool. Zhang Lin splashed to a new Asian record in the men's 1,500-meter freestyle and 13-year-old Wang Qun upstaged Olympic champion Luo Xuejuan to win the women's 100-meter breaststroke. Chinese athletes will be out in force at next year's Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, the final warm-up before their biggest test in Beijing. 
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