"Liu Xiang: voted best actor of the year"

He was supposed to be a national hero, the biggest star of the Olympics. Liu Xiang, gold-winning hurdler in Athens, dreamed of a second Olympic triumph in his own country. But the dream was shattered as the Chinese sprinter failed to take part in the race against his great rival, Cuba's Dayron Robles.

In the Bird's Nest, dismay was palpable. China is crying, as was Liu Xiang when he limped off the track. During the press conference, his coach Sun Haiping was also in tears. Suddenly, China was no longer untouchable.

Ranging from virulent criticism to disappointment and compassion, reactions from the Chinese people were many and varied. On Liu Xiang's website, the page dedicated to fans was, temporarily, inaccessible.

"It was too much pressure for a 25-year-old athlete"

'Reactions in Beijing to Liu Xiang's withdrawal' posted by FRANCE 24 on YouTube

Report : E. Irvine, G. Martin, W. Bracciano, S. Bähr

"It is a disappointment, as it was for Zidane's red card at the football World Cup"

Jade was watching Liu Xiang's race on TV when the sprinter left the Bird's Nest with a leg injury.

At first, I was disappointed, but I guess it's even more difficult for him to endorse because it is such an important competition. It was his olympic dream that he wished to fulfil in China. This is a crushing disappointment in his life.

I watched the race on TV, the Bird's Nest was full. But when he pulled out of the race and left the Stadium, most people in the stands also left. It's a sad day. It makes me think of Zidane's red card during the final of FIFA World Cup.

It's funny because the broadcast quickly switched from athletics to a baseball game. It was China vs. United States.

A TV programme on Liu Xiang's withdrawal was broadcast. As the presenter explained, all storylines had been envisaged: victory, defeat or a second place. But nobody had thought about a withdrawal. So it's hard.

China can't complain because the nation already has 39 gold medals. I don't think China is going to lose its first rank because he failed to win a medal."

'Liu Xiang, the end of a myth', posted by FRANCE24 on YouTube

"You should have run against the stopwatch, not after the sponsors"

"Life goes on, nothing has been lost", reads the headline of the Zhong Shan daily the day after Chinese hurdling sensation, Liu Xiang, was forced out of his Olympic heat with a hamstring injury. "The cries of the 90,000 spectators in the Olympic stadium were heart-breaking" the paper continues, summing up the tone of the Chinese press after the injury to one of the country's greatest sporting icons.

"The people are in shock, millions of television viewers are in shock" the Yang Cheng Wan Bao informs us. "Is it possible to reduce people's disappointment just by telling them what happened?" the Beijing daily asks.

Many wonder what caused one of the best known athletes in the World to throw in the towel, but nobody in the Chinese media is calling into question the fact that he is genuinely injured: "You cannot help but love and respect this young man who never stops smiling," says the Xinmin News. "Liu Xiang needs our sympathy and support now more than ever."

However, China's netizens are not so understanding. "You should have run against the stopwatch, not after the sponsors," writes one blogger. "Liu Xiang: voted best actor of the year," says another on the sohu.com website. Criticism reflects the crushing disappointment in a nation that had expected so much of Liu. Now though, is the time to be "tolerant and sympathetic", the Global Times tells us. Indeed, "the majority of people sympathise with Liu Xiang," the paper's front-page headline tells us.

'Liu Xiang and the new generation of hurdlers' posted by FRANCE24 on YouTube