Fate conspires to deny Liu second shot at gold
ACE CHINESE HURDLER CRASHES OUT EARLY IN HEATS
ed with a whimper. Xiang was expected to shoulder the burden of a billion Chinese again. It was to be a process of cleansing — to atone for the unpremeditated disaster of 2008.
It didn’t have to be this way, life could have been normal for Xiang before he raised the bar by winning the gold medal in Athens. The 110m finals had been sold out for years, since Beijing was awarded the Games in 2008. Though Xiang was carrying an injury, he had been shepherded by the Chinese authorities till the inflamed Achilles tendon sent out a silent, but firm, signal to the athlete that it would not carry him further.
The Chinese are usually not given to displays of unwarranted emotion. Destiny had dealt Xiang another crippling blow. He sat on the tracks and looked senselessly around the stadium like someone who had been concussed by a bomb.
It is difficult to rationalise these moments. Professional athletes are acutely aware that injury to their finely tuned bodies is but a step away. A ligament that is the epitome of strength, flexibility and fluency in a race could snap even as they are bending down to pick up a cup of coffee. Sport can’t be scripted, all an athlete can take comfort from is the fact that there is another race still to come.
Somehow, one got the feeling that it may not be this way any more for Xiang. He had reached the end of the line. A superpower had been hushed by a strained Achilles tendon. There is something mythical about it, but such is the potency of nature.
Xiang raised himself, his face contorted in pain, and slowly hopped on one leg to the exit.