World champion Liu Xiang's disqualification from the 110 metres hurdles at the Prefontaine Classic at the weekend was accidental and his hamstring injury is not serious enough to stop him training, according to his coach.

China's superstar was disqualified with a false start, making him 0-for-2 in America - he entered two races but didn't run in either.

"Not disappointed, just a pity," Liu said. "But it is past already."

Sunday's third false start in as many races caused further disruption to the world record holder's preparations for his Olympic title defence in Beijing in August. "It was a relatively small accident, he was just too eager to run well," coach Sun Haiping told the Oriental Sports Daily. "Over the next month, we will focus on his start in training." A tight hamstring forced Liu to withdraw from the only other race he planned to run in the US, the Reebok Grand Prix in New York the previous week but Sun again played down its seriousness saying at most it would take one to two weeks to clear up.

(Shanghai Daily June 11, 2008)