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Liu Xiang told his mother he would return to the sport he loves after undergoing surgery on his ruptured achilles tendon - but she is more interested in him finding a girlfriend.
The 29-year-old former Olympic champion was resting in London's Wellington Hospital yesterday after crashing out of the Games at the first obstacle in his 110 metres hurdles heat on Tuesday, four years after he was forced to withdraw in similar circumstances at the Beijing Games.
'The surgery is a success,' Liu said from his hospital bed yesterday. 
 In a text to his mother, Ji Fenhu, he said: 'Maybe I will be stronger after I come back. I treasure hurdling. I will be back. Since the hurdles are still there, I want to conquer them.' 
His mother said: 'I thought, 'OK, he could retire now'. But then we saw his message. We will not be against his returning after the recovery.' 
 She wishes her son could find a girlfriend. 'I hope he can find the perfect match, and his girlfriend will take good care of his parents and [have] good manners.' 
After undergoing the 79-minute surgery, Liu released a photograph of himself in bed in the hospital, saying he would recover soon. 
He will stay in the private hospital for two or three days before returning to Shanghai. 
Li Yuyi, chief of the Shanghai Sports Bureau and the deputy secretary-general of the Chinese delegation to the London Games, said the doctors were 'optimistic about the result'. '[The surgery] has been done successfully. All in all, the doctors are satisfied with the operation,' Li said.
Liu had surgery on the same Achilles tendon at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Centre in Houston in December 2008.



Liu's mum hopes hurdler will find love