Liu Xiang pulls out of 110m hurdles 

Defending Olympic champion Liu Xiang pulled out of the men's 110m hurdles first round Monday morning at the Beijing Olympics.

In the last heat of the first round, Liu quit the race after a false start of Dutchman Marcel van der Westen. He limped off the track, obviously being troubled by a foot injury.

Liu's coach Sun Haiping said in a post-race press conference, "His right heel injury has been a long problem since six years ago, even before the Athens Olympics."

"On Aug. 16, we arrived at the Olympic village, medical experts analyzed Liu's injury and specified there was a problem on Liu's Achilles's tendon," Sun said.

World record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba earlier breezed through to the next round, clocking 13.39 seconds.

He said, "I'm perfect today, and the track is good for breaking world record."

Without Liu and Olympic silver medalist Terrence Trammell of the United States, who fell down to the track in heat five, Robles will be almost unbeatable in the finals.

Liu's teammates Shi Dongpeng and Ji Wei were also qualified for the next round.

北京奥运会男子110米栏第一轮比赛今天进行，中国选手刘翔被分在第6组第2道出发，但是由于伤势复发，刘翔退出比赛。罗伯斯以第一小组第一晋级，中国选手史冬鹏、纪伟也顺利晋级，美国名将特拉梅尔因伤退赛。

按照110米栏规则，预赛每小组前四名晋级，余下选手取最快八名也一同晋级，对于三位中国选手来说，这个难度并不大。刘翔在第六组出场，当天国家体育场九万观众到场助威，在刘翔比赛前，全场高呼刘的名字，场面蔚为壮观！千呼万唤之后，刘终于出场了，但我们看到他在试跑的时候，脸上露出痛苦的表情，而往回走的时候，人有点一瘸一拐，看来他脚部的伤势依然在困扰着他！

在自己做了几下拉伸运动后，刘翔换上正式比赛服装，大会介绍他时，满场欢呼，但刘翔没有象往常那样示意，而是默默贴着参赛号码。起跑之前，他不停的摸着右大腿。第一枪有人抢跑，刘翔在第一栏之前停了下来，随后他转身，走出了场地，他退出了比赛！当大会广播说他退赛时，全场爆发出巨大的惊讶和叹息之声！刘翔职业生涯里遭遇了第一次临场的伤痛退赛。