“Not the model for our children” Rafael Nadal condemned for chasing titles over his well being by a French journalist after the 2022 French Open
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Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal has rewritten his won record at the French Open 2022, as he won his fourteenth Roland Garros title. He became the oldest French Open Champion in history. Nadal achieved many milestones with this victory including a record 22nd Grand Slam title. Nadal also defeated his arch-rival Novak Djokovic on his way to the title and has also said that he will keep on trying to compete for the biggest titles.
This victory however came at a very high price for Nadal. He came into the French Open with a lot of uncertainties as he had just recovered from a rib injury, but then just weeks before the Roland-Garros, he was afflicted by the foot pain due to a degenerative disorder that affects Nadal’s left foot. He revealed that he was taking a lot of painkillers for practice and after the match with Corentin Moutet, he was in so much pain, that his doctors gave him an injection to numb the pain. The injections worked for about 12 hours and so he had to take several injections throughout the tournament to stay competitive and play without any pain.
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Rafael Nadal has received a lot of criticism for not being a good role model.
Rafael Nadal has said that this experience has taught him that he would never compete with a numb foot again as it has caused him a lot of pain and can have lasting effects on the body. But, he has already come under fire from many people, including a French Journalist named Clemence Lacour, who said:
“These heroes who choose performance at the expense of their bodies and at the cost of physical problems so bad they must put them to sleep. Is this the model we want for ourselves and our children?”
Many people on Twitter too have echoed the same sentiment that it was extremely careless for Nadal to do something like that. Given that Nadal is a sporting icon and a source of inspiration to millions of people around the world, it was not right for him to demonstrate that you can harm your body if you want to achieve a goal. For many people it was very illogical that Nadal already having won the title thirteen times would do something so drastic that may cause permanent damage to his body, just to win it one more time.
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Prateek Sinha
(365 Articles Published)