BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Head coach of the Chinese athletic team Feng Shuyong said he was very upset about Liu Xiang's quit from the Olympic men's 110m hurdles Monday morning.

Liu, defending Olympic gold medalist and world champion, did not show up in the press conference after the race.

Feng said, "Liu was very very upset about the result. Liu said he would never give up as long as he can run."

Feng said, "After the Athens Olympics, the only target of Liu was to defend his title. He has worked very hard for achieving this goal."

"His injury was old but controlled very well. That's the reason why Liu performed very well in competitions in the past years."

"He has strong mentality and has never given up in any case."

"In the first half year, Liu was trained systematically under the careful coaching of Sun."

"Liu has recovered 90 percent of his highest form. The injury on his Achilles's tendon deteriorated last Saturday in training. He was still confident of sprinting."

"Liu felt very hurt in the pre-race training. He went to the first round after quick medical treatment."