National 100m record holder Henricho Bruintjies has withdrawn on the eve of the track and field competition at the World Student Games, due to injury.

The 21-year-old sprinter was expected to spearhead the SA 4x100m relay quartet with fellow Tuks athlete Akani Simbine, but team management confirmed on Tuesday he had picked up a gluteal strain.

Bruintjies set the SA mark of 9.97 seconds at the Resisprint International meeting in Switzerland on Sunday.

In his absence, Simbine, who clocked 9.99 in Slovenia last week, was expected to anchor the relay squad at the Games in Gwangju.

The athletics competition at the biennial multi-sport spectacle gets under way on Wednesday.

Click here for the official press release.