Liu Xiang (File photo/China News Service)
Both the sports and non-sports world in China are buzzing following the official retirement of Chinese Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang.
"We were really sad when we saw his performance in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London, as we had great expectations for him. Now, looking back, we know that he has his own difficulties that he was not able to really talk about. Now, I feel the criticism he received then was really unfair to him. "
Jia Baoqiang is like many in Beijing and around the country who are pausing to reflect on the achievements and disappointments in Liu Xiang's career.
Liu Xiang first broke on to the scene in 2001 by winning the 110-meter hurdles event at the East Asian Games in Japan as an 18-year old.
From there, his career began taking off, winning a number of international meets leading up to the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
While not considered the favorite at the event in Greece, he emerged triumphant, earning China its first-ever men's Olympic gold in track and field.
His time of 12.91 seconds in the final also tied the then-World Record.
This led to a series of endorsements and a continued string of victories in subsequent international events.
However, his career took a hit in-front of his home country at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, when he was forced to withdraw from the 110-meter hurdles with an Achilles strain following a false start, devastating many of his Chinese fans.
And four years later at the 2012 Olympics in London, his injury finally caught up with him for good.
"The doctor had been using physical methods to press my Achilles' tendon, to make it numb. At that time I really did not know how to deal with my injury."
"I did not know what happened to my right foot. It felt like someone had whipped me from behind. Then I lost balance and fell down. I remember I looked at my foot and it felt like part of my ankle was empty. It was then that I knew my Achilles' tendon had broken."
Despite the injury, Liu Xiang still attempted to return to the track.
But after undergoing a number of surgeries and rigorous training, the injury proved too much.
Liu Xiang's coach, Sun Haiping.
"Liu Xiang delayed announcing his retirement until today, because Liu Xiang wanted to hang in there. We did our best to try to help him recover. However, our results just weren't good enough."
In bidding farewell to competitive track, Liu Xiang says he's looking forward to embarking on a new journey.
"Everyone has things that he wants to do. I just want to do things that are simple and practical. It doesn't have to be big. After retirement I really want help people if it's within my capability. I want to be able to help young people with their athletic career."
Among the Shanghai-native's achievements, aside from an Olympic gold, was holding the 110-meter world record for a time at 12.88 seconds, which he set at a meet in Switzerland in 2006.
