The Spaniard Rafael Nadal, defending Olympic tennis champion, announced Thursday that: "I am not in condition to compete in the London Olympics and therefore will not travel as planned with the Spanish delegation to take part in the games."
Nadal did not mention any specific injury, but it could be tendon problems in his left knee which caused him a match in the second round of Wimbledon to then 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol, one of the most surprising results in the tournament's history.
He also added: "I have to think about my companions, I can't be selfish and I have to think of what's best for Spanish sport, especially tennis and Spanish players, and give fellow sportsmen with better preparation the chance to compete. I tried to hurry my preparations and training to the very last minute, but it was not to be."
Nadal, who won the singles tournament at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was set to be the flag bearer for Spain during the opening ceremony.
He exclaimed with sorrow: "(This) is one of the saddest days of my career as one of my biggest ambitions, that of being Spain's flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the games in London, cannot be. You can imagine how difficult it was to take this decision."
No comments:
Post a Comment