DOHA, Qatar _ Japan's team at the Asian Games lost one of its biggest stars as Olympic gold medalist hammer thrower Koji Murofushi pulled out of the competition Friday with a leg injury.

Murofushi was in good position to win his third straight Asian Games gold, but withdrew due to a pulled muscle in his right calf, team officials here said.

The 32-year-old Murofushi, who took the Athens Olympics gold after Hungary's Adrian Annus was stripped of the medal for failing to attend a drug test, is a seasoned veteran on the world stage, winning all eight of the events he's contested this year.

But he has been slowed by injuries. He took last year off with back and rib injuries and missed the world championships in Helsinki.

Murofushi has been among the top hammer throwers in the world since 2001, when he won a silver at the World Championships. In 2003, he threw for 84.86 meters in Prague, the best throw in 10 years and one of the top five throws ever.

In Japan, a country which rarely produces elite athletes in the weight events, he is a celebrity in large part because he follows in the footsteps of his father, Shigenobu, a former Olympian who held Japan's national record for decades. Murofushi's mother is a former javelin thrower for Romania.

Murofushi's father won five consecutive Asian Games titles, beginning in 1970. Murofushi beat his father's national record in 1998 at the age of 23.

Team officials said Murofushi, who is in Japan, had wanted to compete, but decided against it to save himself from worsening the injury and jeopardizing his ability to compete in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

The dynasty will continue, however.

Murofushi's younger sister, Yuka, is scheduled to compete in the discus here.