| an_apple | 2008-03-29 06:25 |
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(Agencies) 2008-03-28 13:22 BEIJING - China's Olympic and worldchampion high hurdler Liu Xiang is unlikely to light the cauldron atthe opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics because he does not havetime, his father and his coach have said.  China's NBA super star Yao Ming (left) and Olympic 110m hurdleschampion Liu Xiang attend the launching ceremony of the plan forone-year countdown to Beijing Olympics celebration in Beijing August 8,2007. [Xinhua] As China's best hope of winning anathletics gold medal in August, the 110 meters hurdles world recordholder was one of the favorites to perform the prestigious task ofrunning the final leg of the torch relay. He has such weighty responsibility onthe track, he will not be the one to light the flame," Thursday'sBeijing Youth Daily quoted his father Liu Xuegen as saying. Liu's coach Sun Haiping agreed thatthe 24-year-old was unlikely to find the time for the lengthyrehearsals given how tight their training schedule was. "The opening ceremony is toosignificant, so there are lots of rehearsals -- at least six times asfar as I know, and they last a long time," he told the paper. "Especially the last rehearsal, the lighter of the cauldron must stay there for the whole day of Aug 7." However, Sun stressed Liu woulddefinitely play an important role in delivering the flame to the Bird'sNest National Stadium by running at least one leg of the torch relay. Sources: ChinaDaily chinadaily.com.cn |
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