Basketball star Yao Ming has sent a message of consolation to Liu Xiang, who withdrew from the men's 110m hurdles on Monday and sent the entire nation into mourning.

"The road ahead is long. Cheer up, Liu," Yao wrote in a text message to Sun Haiping, Liu's coach.

"There are two decisive factors in the life of an athlete. One is his or her best performance; the other is sum of the athlete's whole career."

"Let the game pass by. The road ahead is long. Cheer up, Liu!" said the message from Yao, whose team also suffered a big blow yesterday, losing 68-94 to Lithuania during the basketball quarterfinals.

Liu became the first Chinese man to win an Olympic track-and-field gold four years ago in Athens, transforming himself into a national symbol and multi-millionaire.

His abrupt withdrawal with a painful foot silenced the fans that had come to see him race on Tuesday, and many were still crying as they filed out of the Bird's Nest stadium.