China’s star hurdler, Liu Xiang, is back home in Shanghai and Thursday had his stitches removed after an operation on a ruptured achiness tendon two weeks ago. Many people will have lasting memories of the injured athlete attempting the 110m hurdles at the London Olympics before crashing to the track in agony.
Liu revealed a 20cm long scar, four times longer than that of his first operation four years ago. It will take him at least six months before he can walk normally again. When asked about the fall at the London Olympic Games 2 weeks ago, Liu said that he never expected the injury to happen, the first time Liu has responded to the public’s questions about his fall.
Liu Xiang said, "When I was standing on the track, I was thinking I am a healthy Liu Xiang with good form. Actually I had already had some problems with my foot at that time, but when I started running, I thought I could run very fast. The starting leg is my left leg, and I use my right leg to clear the first hurdle, I used all my force and I fell down, it felt very painful. I was blank at the time, I saw my foot wasn’t right, I felt afraid, and noticed that there must be some problem with my tendon. It’s my last Olympic Games, I have never thought about taking part in the 2016 Olympics Games. I didn’t want to say goodbye. It’s cruel for me."