Even the greatest athlete has to face the day that he has to leave the field.

In a tearful ceremony after the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai on Sunday, China's athletics icon Liu Xiang bade farewell to his home crowd. Liu won four times in his seven attendances at the Diamond League. On this once glorious battlefield, he put an end to his 19-year career.

It's reported that many fans at Shanghai Stadium wiped away tears as Liu delivered his farewell speech. "Over the years, the track and hurdles ran side by side with my young days. In my career, I had never shrunk, never evaded reality, but everyone has ups and downs. It's you who make me feel so appreciative and thankful. Thanks a lot for your support, otherwise my life wouldn't be so brilliant," the greatest hurdler was quoted as saying emotionally.

Dubbed China's "flying man," Liu is perhaps the most discussed athlete in the country, not only because of his athletics achievement, a rarity among Chinese sportspeople who don't have a strong presence in track and field events, but also the dramatic turn in his career.

Liu made the history when he claimed the gold medal of the Men's 110 Meters Hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and clocked a stunning 12.91 seconds to equal the world record set by Britain's Collin Jackson in 1993. He was then worshipped as a god.

High expectation was pined on him to win China more fame in the international sports arena. However, the athletics hero stunned the country twice with his unanticipated exits from two consecutive Olympic Games due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, causing heartbreak rather than jubilance that the whole Chinese public longed for. He had long been a target of criticism, with some even speculating that his fall at the London Olympics, when he failed to finish the race, was a fake.

Controversial as Liu is, since he declared his retirement on Weibo in early April, he received more consolations and understanding from the public. Chinese public opinion savored his success and the inspiration he brought to society, moving away from the bad memories of the two shocking Olympics withdrawals.

Today's China no longer needs gold medals to mobilize popular enthusiasm and gain international prestige. The particular significance of Liu's 2004 Olympic championship lies in that it came at a time when China was a newcomer in the globalization and when Olympic gold medals were cherished as a means to enhance national prestige and promote feelings of integration among the public. It's not exaggerating to say that the landmark championship inspired the whole nation and even made many burst into hysteria.

But with China increasingly rising on the international stage and the country introspecting its obsession with gold medals, the Olympic medal fever that eroded the spirit of sportsmanship is fading.

There have been vigorous debates in recent years about whether the state-sponsored sports system is outmoded, about whether the country is overly obsessed with gold medals and whether Chinese athletes are put under destructive pressure. Sporting achievements still testify to national progress, but the public has become calm and more empathetic.

Liu leaves the field with dignity and applause, and with sincere wishes for a better personal future after retirement from the public eye.

Today's China still needs more Liu-like athletes. But they shouldn't have every detail of their lives followed and be put under too much pressure by the public.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn