Johannesburg: Amid increasing speculation surrounding his participation at the Rio Olympics, the Spanish Olympic Committee chief has confirmed that 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will represent his nation at the global spectacle.
The 30-year-old, who is chosen as Spain’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony in Rio on August 5, still awaits the nod from the International Tennis Federation after he failed to meet qualifying criteria.
Alejandro Blanco stated that he had no doubts over Nadal’s participation while insisting that the Spanish maestro was training regularly to secure a medal in Rio, Sport24 reported.
Nadal won the Gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but missed the London Games with a knee injury four years later.
The Spaniard’s participation at the Rio Games was thrown into turmoil when he suffered a wrist injury which forced him to pull out of the French Open
prematurely and ruled him out of the Wimbledon.
He is due to play singles and also the mixed doubles with French Open champion Garbine Muguruza at Rio. (ANI)