USAIN BOLT told reporters in Beijing on Thursday he is ready for his showdown with Justin Gatlin at the World Championships.

    The 100m and 200m world record holder will go head-to-head with his American rival, who leads the world list this year with 9.74 seconds.

    Gatlin has returned to the sport having previously served two bans for doping.

    The Jamaican has struggled with injuries this year and admits his preparation for the championships could have been better, despite running 9.87 seconds twice during London’s Anniversary games last month.

    “I’m definitely feeling good,” said the six-time Olympic champion.

    “I always wish I could have got in more races ahead of the championships but it’s just one of those things. I’ve been training good, everything has been coming together. My coach is happy and that is always a key thing — when he is happy I know I am in good nick.

    “I don’t know if I should call it an injury but I had a few joint problems, which were not letting me get enough power under my legs so was causing me to run slow. I wasn’t getting any flex to access all the power that I had.

    “I had to be constantly going to the doctor to try and figure out exactly what I needed to do to fix that. I wish I got more races but training was more important. It worked out and I’m happy.”

    Bolt returned to the scene of his first Olympic triumph where he first announced himself as a global superstar and he talked about his fond memories at the Bird’s Nest stadium.

    Bolt has dominated sprinting over the past seven years since he claimed a golden treble at the 2008 Olympics held at the same Bird’s Nest stadium that will stage the World Championships, which begins Saturday and ends Aug. 30.

    The towering Jamaican went on to claim an unprecedented second treble at the London Games in 2012 and has won every world sprint and relay title on offer, bar a hiccup in the 100m in the 2011 Daegu worlds when he was disqualified after a false start.

    Bolt, who has held the 100m and 200m world records since 2009, last month roared back from an early season pelvic injury that saw him miss six weeks of competitive action with back-to-back 100m times of 9.87 seconds at the London Diamond League meeting.

    “I am still No. 1,” insisted the 28-year-old. “I will continue being No. 1. Until I retire, that’s the plan.

    “It does help the confidence,” he said of his successful return to the track in London ahead of Beijing. “I have been putting in the work and I can see it is coming out on the track. It definitely looks good.”

    On 100m times recorded in 2015, Bolt is now ranked No. 6, Gatlin topping the list with a personal best of 9.74 set in Doha in May, having also clocked 9.75 twice and 9.78.

    Gatlin cuts a controversial figure on the track scene, readily admitting that a four-year doping ban served between 2006-10 after a positive test for testosterone had been both “a gift and a curse.”

    The Florida-based sprinter has since hit the peak of his form at the age of 33 and has established himself as firm favorite in both the 100 and 200m on the back of an unbeaten streak of 27 races dating back to August 2013.

    With Bolt’s early-season injury concerns and the loaded schedule of races to be run in the Chinese capital, the American is confident of adding to a medal haul that includes 2004 Olympic 100m gold, 2005 world sprint double golds, 2012 world 60m indoor gold, London Olympic 100m bronze and Moscow world silver.(SD-Agencies)