The Spanish basketball player Pau Gasol has been chosen to replace Rafa Nadal as the country's flag bearer at the opening ceremony for the London Olympics.
Nadal, the gold medal holder in the men's singles from Beijing, was forced to pull out of the Games yesterday after failing to recover from a knee problem.
Los Angeles Lakers centre Gasol is one of the country's most recognised sportsmen and helped Spain win silver in Beijing four years ago, when they lost in the final to the United States.
