No heir in sight as Olympic legend Liu retires

Hurdler announces decision on Internet after long struggle to recover from injury

Star hurdler Liu Xiang's retirement, announced officially on his micro blog on Tuesday, brings to an end an era of outstanding Chinese athletes who demonstrated the country's ability to excel on the world stage.

He leaves a massive void, as no new crop of exceptional sports stars has emerged to continue the momentum that he and other greats unleashed.