Only gold can satisfy Mijain Lopez, the Cuban wrestler of the men's 120kg Greco-Roman, who will hold up the flag for Cuba at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
"What do you want to get in the Olympics?" asked a reporter.
Lopez smiled and did not answer.
But his coach did.
"Of course the gold medal," said Pedro Val, head coach of the Cuban wrestling team, "that is no doubt. Only the gold will be OK."
After beating Russian nemesis Khasan Baroev in the final of the world wrestling championships in September 2007 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Lopez made himself the top-ranked international Greco-Roman wrestler in his weight class.
However, he still cared about his arch-rival.
"Baroev is my biggest opponent," said Lopez. "The gold will belong to either me or him. I think I am more likely to win (at the Olympics)."
Lopez lost to Baroev at the 2004 Athens Games and the final of the 2006 World Championships. And Baroev will also be in Beijing as the defending champion.
(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2008)