Chinese Liu Xiang quits 110m hurdles after injury

Olympic champion Liu Xiang pulled out of the men's 110m hurdles first round Monday after exacerbating the tendoninjury in his right foot in a training session last week.

In the last heat of the first round, Liu quit the race after a false start by Dutchman Marcel van der Westen. Helimped off the track, troubled by the injury.

Liu's coach Sun Haiping said in a post-race press conference, "His right heel injury has been a long problem since six years ago, even before the Athens Olympics." "On August 16, when we arrived at the Olympic village, medical experts analysed Liu's injury and specified there wasa problem on Liu's Achilles' tendon," Sun said.

Head coach of the Chinese athletics team Feng Shuyong said he was very upset about Liu's quitting from the Olympicmen's 110m hurdles event.

Liu did not show up in the press conference after therace.

Feng said that Liu exacerbated the tendon injury in hisright foot in last Saturday's training.

"I know that kind of pain was unbearable," said Feng, also deputy chief of the Chinese track and fieldadministrative centre.