China's biggest Olympic star, hurdler Liu Xiang, succumbed to an Achilles tendon injury Monday. He walked off the track after a false start, confirming rumors he was too hurt to run.

The 25-year-old Mr. Liu was clearly in pain even before his preliminary round of the 110-meter hurdles started. Moments before the race began, he was seen practicing. He cleared two hurdles before coming to rest on his hands and knees, his face in a grimace.

When the race began, Mr. Liu, in the inside lane, was limping badly before he even reached the first hurdle. As the other athletes returned to the starting blocks after the first false start, Mr. Liu walked off alone from the field -- disappointment etched into his angular face, familiar to all Chinese from the ads plastered across billboards and television.

The cameras followed him as he walked alone down a hallway underneath the stands and crumpled into a heap against a wall with the Olympic banner.

Mr. Liu is China's most popular athlete, eclipsing even basketball superstar Yao Ming, propelled by his charisma, good looks and ability to break stereotypes regarding China's failure to win gold in track-and-field events.

Rumors have been circulating that a hamstring injury had been bothering Mr. Liu for months, fed by his conspicuous absences from competitions throughout most of the year.

On Monday, Mr. Liu's coach, Sun Haiping, admitted that his runner had a long-term hamstring injury caused by years of training. 'Liu's injury has been diagnosed as something wrong with his hamstring, but not with the bone,' Mr. Sun told the official China Daily. 'It is an accumulated injury due to long training and it will affect him if he uses power,' he said. But he predicted that the injury wouldn't be a problem during the event's early rounds.

His coaches said later Monday that his hamstring was healthy but the tendon near his right heel was damaged.

With intense anticipation and so much national pride riding on Mr. Liu's victory -- fed by China's government-run propaganda -- how to manage his failure will pose a challenge.

Right away, presenters for China Central Television, the official Chinese broadcasters of the games, tried to put a positive spin. 'He's not made of iron,' said one.

'Only he knows how severely injured he is,' said CCTV sportcaster Liu Jianhong. 'I think it was right decision.'

His female co-host chimed in with a direct appeal to the injured athlete. 'We hope you can rest in peace and quiet. Don't worry about anything.'

中国奥运头号明星──跨栏选手刘翔周一在男子110米栏预赛中脚部旧伤复发，被迫退赛；这也证明此前有关“阿喀琉斯(Achilles)之踵”将导致刘翔无法参赛的传言并非毫无根据。

预赛开始之前，25岁的刘翔出场热身；在跨过了两个栏架之后，他突然捂着脚停了下来，脸上露出了痛苦的表情，很明显这位中国奥运明星处在伤痛之中。

预赛开始时，刘翔从内道起跑；在他还未抵达第一个栏架时就已经明显一瘸一拐了。该组比赛第一次起跑被判无效，正当其他选手返回起点准备再次起跑时，刘翔却独自离开了赛场。他棱角分明的脸上写满了失望，这是所有中国观众在电视和广告牌上无比熟悉的脸。

摄像一直尾随着刘翔默默地走进赛场下方的走廊，来到一个北京奥运会标语下坐下休息。

刘翔是中国最受欢迎的运动员，他实现了中国男选手在奥运田径赛场金牌零的突破。得益于超凡的个人魅力、帅气的外表以及骄人的成绩，他在中国的人气甚至盖过了篮球巨星姚明。

数月来一直有传言称刘翔饱受脚伤困扰；他缺席了今年奥运之前的大多数比赛，这更加重了外界的怀疑。

刘翔教练孙海平周一承认，刘翔长期受到多年训练造成的跟腱部伤病影响。孙海平对官方的《中国日报》表示，经诊断，刘翔伤在脚筋，而不是骨头。他说，这是长期训练所累积的老伤，会在刘翔发力的时候造成影响。但孙海平当时预计，伤病不会对刘翔的前几轮比赛构成问题。

刘翔教练组周一晚间表示，刘翔脚筋没有问题，但右脚跟附近的肌腱发炎受损。

刘翔不仅肩负着观众的巨大期望，而且在中国政府宣传机器的强攻之下，他能否取胜已变得事关国家荣誉，在这种情况下，如何面对他的失利将成为一个挑战。

目睹刘翔离场之后，中国中央电视台的解说员马上就从正面就发表了评论；一位解说员说，刘翔也不是铁人。

CCTV解说员刘建宏表示，只有刘翔知道自己的伤有多严重，我认为（退赛）是个正确的决定。

刘建宏身旁的女主持人也对受伤的刘翔表示了关注。她说，我们希望他可以平静休息，不用担心任何事情。