Beijing - State broadcaster China Central Television set the
tone for the country's 1.3 billion people on Monday after Liu Xiang's
injury forced him out of his heat.
CCTV's Olympic channel showed the whole press conference live,
including Liu's coach breaking down in tears, and followed it with
replayed close-ups of Liu limping along the track.
The replays were interspersed with archive film of Liu in action.
Sad music played throughout the sequence and the screen held the
caption 'Respect for Liu Xiang'.
Few athletes had carried a higher burden of expectation into this
year's games than the former world record holder.
The standing in China of the gold medallist at the 2004 Athens
Olympics and the 2007 IAAF World Championships was epitomized by
Chinese President Hu Jintao handing Liu the Olympic torch on March
31.
Hu lit the flame in a large cauldron in in Beijing's Tiananmen
Square before handing his torch to Liu to begin the global torch
relay for the 2008 Olympics.
That scene must have pleased Liu's growing list of sponsors, and
has intensified speculation that the 24-year-old could be China's
flag bearer at the opening ceremony, especially if injury forces NBA
basketball superstar Yao Ming to miss the games.
Nike, Coca Cola, Visa, China Mobile, Yili dairy products, Pingan
insurance, the Bank of Communications, Amway, Lenovo computers and
China Post are among at least 15 companies using Liu's name in
advertising.
At least five of the sponsorship contracts are each worth more
than 10 million yuan (1.4 million dollars), according to state media
and comments by Liu's coach, Sun Haiping.
But the rejection of all contracts with Japanese firms is
reportedly his 'first principle' in considering sponsorship,
following the many Chinese who retain anti-Japanese sentiment because
of atrocities committed by Japanese troops in China in World War II.
Still, Forbes List estimated Liu's total income at 160 million
yuan (23.2 million dollars) last year, making him China's
second-richest sports star after Yao Ming.
Liu's presence attracted up to 60,000 spectators and 2,200
journalists to an Olympic test event in Beijing in May, despite the
absence of all his main rivals from the competition.
'His every movement - from warming up to crossing the finish line
- inspired screams from the crowd,' the China Daily newspaper said.
But a tight hamstring forced him to pull out of his next race, the
Reebok Grand Prix in New York on May 31, and Sun on Monday said Liu
had been fighting injury for at least six years.
Liu's single status makes him a magnet for many female fans. He is
mobbed whenever he is seen out in public in China, forcing him to
hide behind the walls of training centres and blacked-out car
windows.
Feng Shuyong, the head coach of the Chinese athletics team, on
Monday said the pressure on Liu did have 'some negative impact' on
his preparations.
His ascendancy to the pinnacle of athletics came after he faced
the prospect of failure as a teenager.
Like most top Chinese athletes, Shanghai-born Liu trained at an
elite sports school. He began as a high-jumper but in 1998 his
coaches persuaded the then 15-year-old Liu to switch to hurdling
because bone tests showed that he would not grow tall enough to
become a top-class jumper.
Liu took to hurdling so well that in 2002 he set a new world
junior record for the 110 metres and earned a bronze medal at the
World Championships in 2003.
He then equalled the world record of 12.91 seconds in winning the
Athens event, becoming the first Chinese man to win an Olympic gold
in track and field. Liu then set a new record of 12.88 seconds in
2006.
When Liu won gold in Athens, he called his victory a 'miracle' and
said he hoped to see more such performances at the Beijing games.
'It is a proud moment not only for China, but for Asia and all
people who share the same yellow skin colour,' Liu told reporters
after his Athens win.
Most online messages were as sympathetic as the state television
coverage on Monday.
'I believe the Chinese people will understand this situation and
encourage him to come back,' Feng said.
'It's okay. Take care of that tendon and thrill us again when
you're well,' a commentator using the name George Hwang said on the
China Daily website.
'You'll always remain the first Asian who broke into this Olympic
event,' Hwang said.
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