Liu Xiang says he feels sorry, vowing to come back

Chinese celebrity hurdler Liu Xiang said on state television that he feels "very sorry" for his injury-forced withdrawal from the Olympic Games and vowed he will come back.

"So many people have been worried and caring about me. I feel sorry. I could do nothing but pull out of the race," Liu told Chinese state television CCTV Monday night, which aired a partial interview with Liu Tuesday morning.

Liu, world and Olympic champion, pulled out of the 110m hurdles qualifying heats because of a worsened tendon injury in his right foot, dashing China's only gold hope in Olympic track.

"I didn't feel right when I was warming up before the race," said Liu. "I knew my foot would fail me. I felt painful when I was just jogging," said Liu.

"Two weeks ago, I ran a 12.90-something. I didn't know why things turned out this way. I wanted to hang on. But I couldn't. It was unbearable. If I had finished the race, I would have risked my tendon. I could not describe my feeling at that moment."

Liu said he is a man who never easily quits.

"I am not that type of person. I never quit easily. I believe I will come back," said Liu. 

历经临赛伤痛折磨遗憾退赛的刘翔，18日中午向教练孙海平袒露心迹：我一定会东山再起。这是当天下午四点，孙海平在接受央视专访时向记者透露的。

中国田径中心主任罗超毅说，比赛时，刘翔正承受着非常大的痛苦，从电视画面中他的表情亦可以看出。而不为人知的是，就在赛前，刘翔一度往墙上猛踢，希望麻木脚部疼痛，坚持比赛。

中国田径队总教练冯树勇介绍说，以他的了解，刘翔是个绝不轻言放弃的人。他是在8月16日赛前高强度训练时出现伤痛状况的。16日是他进驻奥运村前最后一次训练，几次起跑后脚跟就出现了问题。实际上，他当天的身体机能状况非常好，教练们按照训练计划，打算让他做几个简单的适应性训练即可，但是他长期以来的严重脚伤，已无法支撑。

刘翔主教练孙海平在中午的赛后新闻发布会上一度泣不成声，对弟子刘翔退赛表示万分遗憾。当记者问及刘翔目前状况时，他说，目前首要任务是让刘翔好好养伤，多位大夫正在会诊，将尽快拿出最好的治疗办法，助刘翔早日恢复。但由于他脚伤在受力部位，情况相对复杂，具体需要多长时间能够康复，还要等待会诊的进一步结果才能确定。同时他告诉记者，谢谢各界的关心，今天国家体育总局的领导也去看望刘翔了，尽管刘翔非常难过遗憾，但他很坚强，现在精神状况还好，并表示，他一定会东山再起，请大家放心。

此外，罗超毅主任告诉记者，在奥运会这样高强度的比赛中，类似的伤痛情况时有发生，各位运动员也是如履薄冰。他们认为，今天刘翔放弃比赛是非常明智的，他还年轻，还有很多机会，比如2012年的奥运会，正值刘翔运动的黄金年龄。现在及时的调整疗伤是非常必要的！