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Rafael Nadal: nothing will keep me away from Rio

Xinhua, July 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal, said on Friday that he had no intention of missing out of the forthcoming Olympic Games despite battling a wrist injury and fears over the Zika virus.

Nadal has not played since withdrawing from the French Open in May due to a wrist injury, missing out on Wimbledon as he works to recover in time for the Games.

He has extra motivation to travel to Rio as he has been chosen to carry the Spanish flag in the opening ceremony - something he was set to do four years ago in the London 2012 Olympics before injury forced him out.

"It has not entered my head not to be in Rio," Nadal said at an event in his home town of Manacor in Mallorca.

He was asked of the threat of the Zika virus, which has led several Spanish athletes, such as basketball ace, Pau Gasol to express their concerns. but the tennis star said "a situation which is a long way from reality," had been created about the virus.

"I was in Rio in February and I led a perfectly normal life," explained Nadal. Endit