August 19, 2008
The surprise departure of defending Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang caused a big shock yesterday and is the dominant news item on today’s front pages. Like many newspapers, Guangzhou Daily printed a front-page photo showing Liu Xiang walking off the track before the 110m hurdle race.
Most papers have been kind to the fallen hero, but some of them reflect on whether excessive expectations have taken a toll on Liu Xiang, who apparently is under tremendous pressure to perform. Liu’s coach wept yesterday at a press conference, and Liu himself told his supporters in a CCTV interview earlier today that he was very sorry.
In the Yangtse Evening Post, sports commentator Li Chengpeng acknowledged the pressure that Liu Xiang was under to measure up to the high hopes of the people:
Look at the number on the back of Liu Xiang: 1356, 1.3 billion people, and 56 ethnic groups, all their hopes are on the shoulders of Liu Xiang.
Today’s China Youth Daily ran an article comparing Liu Xiang with Zhu Jianhua, a retired athlete who was once China’s best high jumper. Under great pressure to achieve gold in the 1984 Los Angles Olympic Games, Zhu failed to meet expectations and ended up receiving a bronze, after which he exited the sports world altogether.
The paper suggests that times have changed: the country no longer needs a star athlete to prove its worth to the world, so Liu’s national audience is more forgiving when he disappoints.
- Yangtse Evening Post via People Online (Chinese): Was Liu Xiang really qualified to withdraw from the race?
- China Youth Daily via China News (Chinese): Liu Xiang won’t be a second Zhu Jianhua
- Further reading on ESWN: Rose Luqiu: “Liu Xiang and the Media”