CCTV prepared for Liu’s sudden exit

Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang's exit from the London Olympic Games is still causing controversy among Web users after a sports commentator suggested he knew prior to Liu's run that the athlete was not entirely fit to compete and that he had prepared four scripts covering different outcomes.

"I got the news (that Liu was not 100 percent fit) before the preliminary, but there was no specific information revealing how bad his situation was," China Central Television (CCTV) Olympic commentator Yang Jian told the Global Times Thursday in a private message through his Sina Weibo.

At a CCTV seminar on the network's London Olympic coverage in Beijing, Yang said he had written four scripts prior to Liu's first heat, one of which covered the possibility that Liu would crash out of the race.

Yang's revelation has led some netizens to believe Liu knew he would not finish the race before it started.

Liu crashed into the first hurdle and tumbled to the ground holding his ankle. He later had surgery in London for an injury to his Achilles tendon.

"It strikes me that this news is nothing but cheating," Tan Fei, a famous Sina columnist, wrote on his Sina Weibo on Wednesday. More than 10,000 microbloggers forwarded his comment.

A survey conducted by caixin.com showed many people seem to share Tan's feelings.

More than 1,000 people had participated in the online survey as of 6 pm Thursday and 41 percent agreed that "Liu's Olympic exit was completely staged and those who are responsible should apologize."

Zhang Zhi'an, an associate professor with the School of Communication and Design at Sun Yat-Sen University, told the Global Times on Thursday that public fury is a result of people wanting to instantly know the truth.

"The audience wants to learn the latest news as soon as the media is informed of it," said Zhang.

However, Huang Jianxiang, a former CCTV sports commentator, supported Yang's preparation for the race. "CCTV has demanded pre-arranged planning for live sports broadcasting after my 'Narration Gate'", Huang wrote on his Sina Weibo.

Huang's "Narration Gate" caused an international stir when he appeared to lose control over his emotions during a 2006 World Cup match after Italy scored against Australia.

"I don't think Yang has done anything wrong," said Dong Lu, another well-known sports commentator, when interviewed by telephone from the Global Times on Thursday.

"This is very reasonable after the 2008 Beijing Games, when Liu Xiang pulled out with an similar injury. Reporters must have backup plans to cover unexpected incidents, so does his sponsor, Nike," Dong said.