Indeed Rafael Nadal’s pulling out form London Olympics has come as a biggest shock for Spain ahead of the big championship. The former Olympic champion Nadal has withdrawn from the London Games because of injury which has deprived the tournament of one of its biggest attractions and left Spain reeling on Thursday.

The gold medal winner in Beijing four years ago has failed to recover from a knee problem, and also misses out on the honour of carrying his nation's flag at the opening ceremony.

Spanish tennis federation (RFET) said Feliciano Lopez would be his replacement in the singles while the country's Olympic committee (COE) said a meeting on Friday would decide on a replacement flag bearer for the July 27th parade.

"I'm not in a condition to be able to compete," Nadal, 26, said in a statement. "It's one of the saddest moments of my career. I have to think of my colleagues, I cannot be selfish and I have to think of the well-being of Spanish sport, especially Spanish tennis, and let a colleague play who has had a better preparation and is in a state to compete," the world number three added.

This is utterly a big blow for Spain and it is quite sure that Nadal will definitely be missed in the Games!

Source: TNN