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Stands packed to the rafters at the RK Khanna stadium on Friday evening were in for an unwelcome surprise. The man theyd turned out to watch - Rafa Nadal - wasnt on court. The tie had been robbed of its blockbuster opening.The surprise, however, soon gave way to mystery and a deepening sense of intrigue with the Spanish team members offering conflicting versions for Nadals absence. An apparent stomach upset was the initial theory floating behind the no-show. Its Delhi belly, was the word that got around.Spains third-best singles player in the team, No 26-ranked Feliciano Lopez was instead fielded in the first singles rubber against Ramkumar Ramanathan. Nadal himself was seated alongside the rest of the Spanish team on the sidelines during the match, flashing a quick thumbs up and a wave turning the crowd delirious.While Lopez listed Nadals much-suspect left wrist injury as the reason for the pullout, teammate David Ferrer and non-playing captain Conchita Martinez blamed it on a stomach ache he picked up after Fridays practice.After todays (Friday) practice, he had a bit of a stomach ache and didnt want to risk it because of the weather, Martinez said, before adding, His wrist has been doing well and hes been practising all week. His stomach issue was the reason he didnt play today.Its possible that the whole truth does not lie in either of the versions.What, however, could prove to be the giveaway among the conflicting reasons proffered is Lopezs admission that the team knew right through the week that Rafa might not play on the opening day.We knew during the week that I might have to play instead of Rafa, he said, He has been struggling with a wrist injury since the last 2-3 months and didnt want to take a risk so he spoke to the captain on the matter.His injured left wrist had forced him to withdraw from the French Open after winning his first two matches in straight sets, and the Queens Club, before pulling out of Wimbledon. His loss to Frances Lucas Pouille at the US Open this year meant that this was the first time since 2004 that the 30 year-old has failed to make a Grand Slam quarterfinal.Rafas brute style of play has been harsh on his body, adding more miles to it than most players probably do in their entire careers. We spoke last (Thursday) night about it and till then it was not decided that Rafa wouldnt play, Lopez added, His wrist is getting better but hes playing with pain.Lopez though hinted that the world No 4 might play the doubles rubber on Sunday, along with Marc Lopez. The duo finished with a gold medal at the Rio Olympics last month. Rafa might play tomorrow (Saturday). It could either be Rafa and Marc or Marc and me. We are confident that he will play during the weekend, he said.That would be one prayer both India and Spain will share. Ecco Shoes Wholesale . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Ecco Shoes On Sale . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. http://www.cheapeccoaustralia.com/ . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Cheap Ecco Shoes Australia . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Cheap Ecco Shoes Online . The quest begins with what is supposed to be an easy one, although Germany has traditionally been a stubborn opponent to Canadian teams at international tournaments.Four-time Olympic long jump champion Carl Lewis says the standard of competition in the event is at an all-time low, describing Greg Rutherfords winning leap in London as pathetic. Speaking to reporters at the United States Olympic team media summit, the 54-year old - who won gold in the discipline between 1984 and 1996 - says the decline in standard is symptomatic of a dying sport.The long jump is the worst event in the world right now. Awful, said the American, who won nine Olympic golds and eight at the World Championship during a glittering career. Jesse Owens would have been third in the last Olympics. His personal best from 80 years ago would have been good enough to get him a medal in London.And Lewis accused the elite of the sport of not pushing hard enough to challenge Mike Powells 25-year-old world record of 8.95 metres, set in Tokyo in 1991.British jumper Rutherfords winning leap at the London 2012 Olympics of 8.31 metres fell substantially short of Powells mark. Greg Rutherford chasing second successive gold in Rio this summer Do you want to go and see someone jump 26 feet? They dont know how to jump and theyre not trying to because theyre winning medals anyway, he added.If I jumpped 26 feet, Id walk away and say dont measure that, make it a foul.dddddddddddd Have a standard. You dont go to the Olympics for a medal, you go for the distance. People want to go and get a medal for jumping 26 feet? Come on.Mike Powell and me were jumping 28 feet regularly. But this generation? Rutherford? Im sorry, but its pathetic to me. Hes won everything. Are you kidding me? Hes doing his best. Hes jumping great. But he shouldnt be winning with that. Huge crowds at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome Looking ahead to Rio this summer, Lewis predicted a bleak Games for his home country, insisting track and field is in terminal decline.The sports dying right now. When Michael Johnson, myself, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Edwin Moses - all of us left, the sport was at a pinnacle, he said.Its been in a steady decline ever since. Everyones talking about how great the sport is, but go back and look at the films of Rome or Helskinki - there were 60,000 people in the stands. Also See: Grey-Thompson resigns from role Farah headlines in Cardiff Ones to Watch Athletics Video ' ' '