Sprinter Xie out of Asian Games with ankle injury

Chinese sprinter and medal hope Xie Zhenye said yesterday that he is not taking part in the Asian Games because of an ankle injury.

The 24-year-old set a new Chinese record over 200m of 20.16sec in May to underline his electric form heading into the Games in Indonesia’s Jakarta and Palembang.

Xie was expected to push friend and rival Su Bingtian all the way in the 100m for Games gold and the unofficial title of China’s fastest man. But with the Games opening tomorrow, Xie wrote on Weibo, “The path of life is always bumpy and looks like this time I’m not that lucky person. After long-term research and discussion, we decided I’m not going to this Asian Games out of long-term considerations.”

Xie, who ran 9.97sec in the 100m in June to set a new China record —which was swiftly bettered by Su — added that he was “very sorry” and posted a doctor’s letter confirming a right-ankle injury.

Xie, who injured his ankle at the London Diamond League meeting last month, had also been scheduled to race in the 4x100m relay in Indonesia.