'Asian Flying Man' hangs up his boots

Led by Su Bingtian, the Guangdong team finished in fourth place in the men's 4x100 meter relay final of the 15th National Games in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, on Thursday evening.

After the race, the Guangdong Olympic Sports Center resonated with the Cantonese song "Hard to say goodbye," as Su bid farewell to the games.

"Persevering for four years has been extremely difficult, and only our team members truly understand this hardship," said Su, who ran the first leg of the race, told audience members after the event.

"But I held on because I didn't want to say goodbye to everyone quietly — being able to persist until today and say farewell to everyone in my hometown is a great honor for me."

It marked the fifth time the 36-year-old "Asian Flying Man" participated in the games. He had previously mentioned on various occasions that the 15th edition of the games would be the "last dance" of his professional career.

"Although today is a brief farewell, I will not leave the field of athletics that I love," he said.

Su would continue contributing to China's sprinting endeavors in the future, helping more young people who are passionate about sprinting achieve their dreams.

"I aspire to see generation after generation of Chinese sprinting leaders continue to stand on the international stage," he said.