Earlier in the quarterfinals of the same event, Team China's third skater, Lin Xiaojun, also fell off the track without any apparent contact with the other competitors in his group, much to the disappointment of Chinese supporters at the southern Milan arena.

Jens van't Wout of the Netherlands won the final in two minutes and 12.219 seconds to collect his second short-track gold in Milan, after his 1,000m victory on Thursday. Hwang Daeheon of South Korea won silver in 2:12.304 before Latvia's Roberts Kruzbergs rounded out the podium by finishing third in 2:12.376.

Despite the setbacks, Liu insisted that Team China will carry on with its mission resiliently and relentlessly.

"It was a regret tonight that we got blocked and then taken down when we were gaining on fast," a calm Liu said of the crash after the 1,500m Final A.

"I could've come up to the third or second place, and launch a final attack from there.

"It was really hard to catch up from behind in a nine-skater final. It was physically demanding."