Shock as China's Liu Xiang Crashes out of 110m Hurdles
2012 London Olympics: Men's Track & Field

London, England

Celebrated Chinese hurdler, Liu Xiang, can well forget about Olympic Games glory in the future as he crashed out in the 110m hurdles qualification round after running into the first hurdle.

The 2004 Athens Olympic Games gold-medalist badly twisted his ankle and had to leave the track with the help of two assistants. The 2008 Beijing Games nightmare came back to haunt Chinese icon as moments after the start he ran into the obstacle and went crashing to the ground.

The 29-year-old's athletics career seems all but over as he was seen grimacing in pain, sitting on a wheelchair. Fellow athlete Balazs Baji of Hungary returned after completing the race to console Liu.

A distraught Baji was quoted as telling the media that he had adored Lix Xiang since childhood and that he had missed the opportunity to compete with the Chinese great. "I'm just sorry for him," Bazi was quoted as saying.

Liu's career has seen many ups and downs since he clinched gold with a world-record equaling timing of 12.91 at Athens. He equaled the record set by Colin Jackson. The Chinese went on to break the record, running a 12.88-second race at the world championships in 2007, but since then injuries have taken a toll on his body.

He seemed in fine fettle at the world championships last year where he finished second but Monday's performance has again a big question mark on his future.

Meanwhile, the fastest man on earth, Jamaica's Usain Bolt, paid glowing tributes to Liu saying, the Chinese had "shown the world he can do great things. For him to push himself and come back last year... for this to happen, this is really sad for any athlete."

Back home in China, there was a wave of shock on hearing the news, with blogging and social-media sites awash with comments on Liu.

Chinese fans were dissapointed after hurdler Liu Xiang crashed during his 110 meter heat --- crushing all hopes he'd repeat his medal winning performance in Athens. Deborah Gembara reports