• China's Liu Xiang looks up after kissing the last hurdle in his lane during his men's 110-meter hurdles round 1 heat at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

China's Liu Xiang looks up after kissing the last hurdle in his lane during his men's 110-meter hurdles round 1 heat at the London 2012 Olympic Games. (Photo : REUTERS)

The first Chinese male Olympic track and field champion Liu Xiang is set to retire after a prolonged period from active competition due to an Achilles tendon injury that forced him to pull out of the 2012 London Olympics.

The Shanghai Daily has reported that Lui's coach Sun Haiping told the press last week that the 31-year-old athlete will announce his retirement via his Weibo account on Tuesday. There has been no official confirmation of this claim from Liu or Shanghai athletics authorities.

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In February, Liu, who is one of the most popular athletes in the country, hinted that his injury has not healed after he admitted that he will not compete in the world championships in Beijing this summer.

"I might be able to take part in the event in another role," he said.

Liu gained international recognition after he won the 110-meter hurdle with a record time of 12.91 seconds at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In 2007, Liu set another new world record for 110-meter hurdle race when he finished in 12.88 seconds. He won gold at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Germany that same year and crowned off his successful run by later winning the World Athletics Championship to become the 110-meter hurdle world champion.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Liu was one of the stars of the competition. But he failed to deliver after he walked off the track with an injury. Reports indicate that Liu had been battling with chronic inflammations in Achilles tendon and had injured a hamstring just a few months before the Olympics.

Liu returned to active competition after being in recovery for over a year. However, at the 2012 London Olympics he pulled his Achilles tendon and was forced to quit the race. Liu has not competed since then.