Because of a sustaining knee injury, Rafael Nadal will not be able to participate in the upcoming Olympics. He had to withdraw his name from the London list and that with a heavy heart.
Rafael Nadal to miss London Olympics
Four years ago at the Beijing Olympics, Nadal carried the Spanish flag and came back winning a gold. This year however, he will not be able to represent Spain to the games. He was declared unfit to be able to compete in the Olympics by his physician. The Spaniard was taking all necessary precautions to be able to play. He had taken two weeks off just so he could attend to his knee and take some rest however it looks like that would not be enough.
In a statement released mid of this week, Nadal said that he had tried to give the maximum amount of time and attention to the tendinitis in his knee however it has not be enough to allow him to participate in the Olympics. He later tweeted about not being able to play this time on a social networking site and thousands of fans joined in to the regret.
“Today is one of the saddest days in my career. Carrying the flag for Spain at the opening ceremony was set to be one of the biggest honors, one of the most special moments for me. For this reason I hope you can understand how difficult it has been for me to take this decision. One of my teammates who is better prepared than me can take my place and compete to the best of his ability.”
Taking the place of the World No. 2 will now be Feliciano Lopez who is at world no 30 at the moment and will play in the singles spot. At the doubles place will be Marc Lopez. Lopez has paired up with Nadal in earlier tournaments and the duo also managed to win titles together. The flag bearer on the other hand will now be Pau Gasol. Gasol is a basketball player.
Nadal, in an interview, said that it was a great honor to be able to carry the national flag of his country to the Olympics and it comes as great sadness that he will not be able to anymore but wishes the rest of the team from Spain as well as around the world all the very best.
Tags: London Olympics 2012, Olympics, Rafael Nadal, Tennis
