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Nadal to compete at Olympics

Rafael Nadal of Spain performs during his training session prior to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Tennis events at the Olympic Tennis Centre in the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 August 2016. Picture credits: EPA
Rafael Nadal of Spain performs during his training session prior to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Tennis events at the Olympic Tennis Centre in the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 02 August 2016. Picture credits: EPA

Rafael Nadal has confirmed that he will be in action at the Olympics, playing in the men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles events, even though he is not fully fit.

Nadal, who won a gold medal in the men’s singles event at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, has been out of action ever since he withdrew from the third round at Roland Garros in May with a wrist injury.

While there was speculation that Nadal would skip the Olympics in order to focus on his recovery, the Spaniard has opted to feature in the event as it comes around once every four years.

"I'm not 100 percent but I want to play. These are the Olympic Games," Nadal told reporters. "After discussing it with my team, I have decided I will play everything that I can. We are here and practice has gone well -- more or less.

"It´s not an ideal situation there are always risks but the MRI scan was OK."

Nadal revealed that he had practiced for six hour and while his wrist is still sore, he admitted that the pain did not get any worse.

Nadal added that he decided to play after captain Conchita Martinez told him that he would have the best chance of winning a medal for Spain in the sport.

"It's not the ideal situation but my captain (Conchita Martinez) had confidence today that I am the best option to try to get a positive result for our country," he said. "So I practised six hours today. The wrist is not 100 per cent perfect but the best thing is that after the six hours of practice the wrist is not worse than yesterday. That is great news.

"I'm excited to be in an Olympics. It is once every four years and you never know what is going on in the future. I lost London (2012 Olympic Games) so I'm excited to be here and I'm motivated to play."

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