Chinese struggle over 'hero's' withdrawal

For Chinese spectators at the Beijing Olympics, the biggest news this week was the worst news: the withdrawal of hurdler Liu Xiang from competition Monday due to a foot injury. Nearly 10,000 spectators had packed the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium, and 900 million Chinese viewers were glued to their television sets when the 25-year-old athlete, after a false start in the 110-meter-hurdle event, turned and walked off the field.

His coach later explained that Liu had an inflamed Achilles tendon, a flare-up of an old injury.

After winning China’s first gold medal in athletics at the 2004 Athens Olympics by tying the world record in the 110-meter-hurdle event, Liu became a national hero. Even vegetable sellers on Beijing’s streets were talking about him.

“Liu is definitely the most shining star, more than any other Chinese athlete in the Games,” blogger Youyi stated.

Liu’s face has been everywhere for the past four years - in television, magazine and billboard commercials - in every corner of the country. No wonder he received a roaring cheer when he entered the stadium for the first qualifying round Monday morning. Chinese fans had taken for granted that he would add another gold medal to their growing count.

Instead, fans saw him kneel down in pain after a false start was called, and watched in shock as he limped off the track. The stadium went silent. The Chinese spectators had never thought of the possibility that this promising young athlete could withdraw from the race.

Once the initial shock had worn off, the Chinese were divided in their attitudes toward Liu’s withdrawal. The media and most critics advised the entire citizenry to calm down, accept Liu’s injury as a reality, and wish him a good recovery - even though several Chinese journalists were seen to shed tears over it.

Liu’s coach, Sun Haiping, and the chief coach of the Chinese track and field team, Feng Suyong, quickly called a press conference, without Liu. Sun - who has been described as having a close relationship, almost like a father, to Liu - couldn’t hide his tears and hardly spoke a word in the face of harsh questioning from Chinese reporters, who wanted to know why the situation had not been made clear earlier.

Feng emphasized that Liu had been very strong in taking the huge pressure the whole country had placed on him over the past four years, but his injury was just too much to bear.

Liu wore the number 1356, said to represent the hopes of China’s 1.3 billion population and its 56 ethnic groups.

In an interview broadcast Tuesday on national television Liu himself apologized for letting the entire nation down. He also posted an open letter on the Internet, thanking people for their support and promising that after his recovery, “You will see a faster Liu Xiang.” His coach expressed confidence that Liu will compete for China in the 2012 Olympics.

Half a year ago an online poll asked the question, “What if Liu Xiang fails to get the gold at the Beijing Olympics?” About 60 percent of the Chinese polled said they would “understand” if that occurred.

Now that this scenario has become a reality, many people have gone online to express their real feelings. A number of early remarks were negative, even angry, at Liu’s withdrawal, but the majority supported his difficult decision.

Major Web sites have opened special sections dealing with this incident. Over 600,000 Chinese have participated in an online poll, with 50 percent saying they accepted Liu’s decision and wished him well, and nearly 45 percent saying Liu’s image would not be harmed.

Concerning the concealment of Liu’s injury before the Beijing Olympics, nearly half of respondents said they would have preferred to be informed much earlier, so they would not feel so shocked and heartbroken now. About 35 percent said they could understand such a cover-up, “as pursuing gold medals is just too important an issue!”

More than half of the people polled believed that Liu’s injury was related to the huge pressure he faced to win.

When asked whether an injured athlete should persist or withdraw from a race, only 20 percent selected the answer: “The sports field is like a battlefield; Liu Xiang should have never yielded.”

Still other online postings expressed individual Chinese netizens’ disappointments, suspicions, encouragement and wishes.

“We used to flatter him as a god, but he fooled us!” wrote one netizen, who suspected Liu was faking his injury in order to avoid competing with his strongest rival, Dayron Robles from Cuba.

“You have to reach the finish line even if you have to crawl! Others can withdraw, but you can’t, because you’re Liu Xiang!” one netizen wrote, saying the 1.3 billion Chinese people did not want him to behave like an army deserter.

“He couldn’t withdraw in advance, otherwise the importance of the Beijing Olympics would drop at least 30 percent,” another netizen wrote. Other bloggers mentioned a possible huge loss in ticket sales if Liu had announced his withdrawal earlier.

The least forgiving of the netizens claimed that Liu Xiang represented not only himself, but the entire country. They pointed out that he was trained with state resources, and that the Chinese had chosen him to symbolize the pride of the nation.

Still, one supporter countered: “Before being a hero he’s a human being. It isn’t the gold medals he wins that we love, but this individual.”