Chen learning to roll with punches

Chinese race walker Chen Ding walked off the track, frowning and shaking his head, after finishing ninth in the men's 20km at the IAAF world championships at the Bird's Nest on Sunday.

After a short television interview, the Olympic champion departed the iconic Beijing venue in silence, disappearing into the shadow of the athletes' tunnel.

It was a far cry from Chen's gold-medal triumph at the 2012 London Olympics, where he celebrated by waving to the crowd a full two kilometers from the finish en route to becoming just the second Chinese male to win a gold medal in Olympic athletics, after Liu Xiang's victory in 110m hurdles at the 2004 Athens Games.