Behind the decision to quit Olimpics

The Bird's Nest Stadium was filled with great cheering when hurdler Liu Xiang stepped onto the field. The Bird's Nest was packed. The entire country has been waiting for Liu's races and this was his first public appearance at these Games. When he walked out there was an enormous cheer, even when it was clear to us that he was limping and in pain.
Something unfortunate happened, after an initial false start caused by another runner, Liu walked away from the field, unable to continue the match because of an injured Achilles tendon. When he turned back and walked away, there was a stunned silence among hundreds of thousands of audiences. Everywhere you looked there were shocked faces. Five minutes later, the seats had emptied; the huge stadium was left in silence.

That was what happening on the night of eighteenth of August, 2008.
Liu Xiang was the first Chinese man to win a track and field Olympic gold when he took the 110-hurdles in Athens, and his image has been everywhere in the build-up to the Games. The expectation on his shoulders has been enormous. In fact, no other Chinese athlete felt more pressure coming into the games than Liu. Since winning the 110 hurdles in Athens in 2004, Liu become an overnight hero to Chinese fans as well as marketers, including Nike (NKE), Coca-Cola (KO), Visa (V), and McDonald's (MCD), not to mention more than a dozen Chinese brands (BusinessWeek.com, 8/8/07) ranging from tobacco company Baisha to Spring of Sudi, a real estate company.
After the match, that issue has been widely argued on the internet as well as newspaper forum and TV shows. According to the press conference afterwards, his coach Sun Haiping said Liu Xiang could not to compete because of an injured Achilles tendon. However, the more the expectation is, the great the disappointment will be. Liu’s exist without a say to the supporters hugely depress the country at first. It has been argued that whether there are other reasons behind the surface. Someone came up the idea claimed that Liu’s botheration of failure would lose fame and the commercial value, otherwise international threats are also considered.
However most people are genuinely worried about Liu Xiang, Public reaction to Liu's withdrawal varied -- "Liu Xiang took us to heaven and now he has taken us to hell," said one online commentator -- but overall it was overwhelmingly supportive. An online poll posted after he pulled out attracted more than 45,000 respondents within three hours; nearly three-quarters of them said they still "considered Liu Xiang the 'flying man.' "
An Internet rumor that Liu Xiang's decision to drop out of the competition was "due to pressure from his sponsors" is malicious gossip, said Zhu Jinqian. She added that Nike's legal department is looking into the matter.
Most sponsors said they would still support Liu Xiang and expect further cooperation with him, even though injury forced him out of the Olympics. "We are still proud and honored to have him as a brand ambassador," says Keith Kaerhoeg, group communications director of Coca-Cola Pacific. "We will certainly continue our engagement with Liu Xiang and wish him a full and early recovery." Coke began working with Liu in 2003 before his Olympic win.
No doubt, a sportsman can be a hero of nation, a spirit of people. Otherwise, a sportsman is also a man, who needs more support and care than oppugn and criticism.