President of Spanish Olympic Committee 'can't imagine' Games without Nadal

MADRID -- The President of the Spanish Olympic Committee Alejandro Blanco said on Wednesday that he can't imagine this summer's Tokyo Olympics taking place without tennis star Rafael Nadal.

The 34-year-old, who is currently ranked No 3 in the world, dropped a bombshell on Tuesday when he hinted that he might not participate in Tokyo Olympics due to the problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"I don't know yet, I can't give a clear answer because I don't know. In a normal world I would never think of missing the Games - we all know how important they are to me. But situations... I don't know, we'll see in a couple of months," said Nadal when asked about the Games at a press conference he gave at the Rome Masters series event.

Nadal won the gold medal in the men's singles in Beijing in 2008 and won a gold in doubles in 2016, where he was also the flagbearer for the Spanish team.

When asked about Nadal's words, Alejandro Blanco said he couldn't "imagine the Games without Rafa," but added that the veteran "must always be listened to and supported."

"He has given so much to Spanish and world sport, that we have to support him and if he makes the decision not to participate, we have to respect it," he added.

Nadal didn't take part in London 2012 due to a troublesome knee injury.

Blanco was speaking at a press conference in which he announced that the swimmer Mireia Belmonte (considered the greatest Spanish swimmer of all time) and Saul Craviotto, a sprint kayaker who has won two gold, one silver and a bronze medal in an Olympic career stretching back to 2008, will be joint flagbearers for the Spanish team in Tokyo.