On September 22, Beijing time, one day before the opening of the Hangzhou Asian Games. The Chinese sports delegation announced that the flag bearers of the opening ceremony, swimming world champion Qin Haiyang and the captain of the Chinese women's basketball team, Yang Liwei, will jointly lead the Chinese athletes into the opening ceremony.
The 24-year-old Qin Haiyang is 1.90 meters tall, and his election as the flag bearer of the Asian Games was not much surprise. He won his fourth gold medal at the Fukuoka Swimming World Championships in July, becoming the first athlete in history to win gold medals in the 50, 100 and 200m breaststroke at a single World Championships. In addition, he set a new world record in the men's 200m breaststroke.
According to Fu Zhenghao, a well-known basketball media person, yesterday the head of the Chinese sports delegation, deputy head of the delegation, and secretary general specially held a meeting at the headquarters of the regiment headquarters to study the candidates for flag bearers reported by various project associations and centers. The standard-bearer candidate reported by the Chinese Basketball Association is Han Xu, not Yang Liwei.
Last year, the Chinese women's basketball team won the runner-up of the World Cup, and this year won the Asian Cup, and the core players Han Xu and Li Meng are recognized by the outside world. Although Li Meng has good ball skills and image, he may not be recommended because of the negative news off the field before.
Han Xu has enough strength and influence to be as tall as 2.11 meters, but the Asian Games delegation cannot find male athletes of similar height and excellent performance, which should be the direct reason why Han Xu finally failed to be the flag bearer.
Yang Liwei's height is 1.76 meters, which is more compatible with Qin Haiyang who stands at 1.90 meters.
Yang Liwei also became the first athlete in the history of the Chinese women's basketball team to serve as a flag bearer at a major multi-sport event. She said that the Hangzhou Asian Games is the home game, and this year is another key year to prepare for the Paris Olympics. "I believe that through continuous efforts and persistence, the Chinese women's basketball team will continue to write a legend!"
In the past, at the opening ceremony of major competitions, there was only one flag bearer for each delegation. From the viewpoint of equality between men and women, the International Olympic Games decided that starting with the Tokyo Olympics, the flag bearers of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games can apply the new rule of one man or one for each woman, and this rule is also used in this Asian Games.
At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, the flag bearer of the opening ceremony of the Chinese delegation was Taekwondo Olympic champion Zhao Shuai.
At the Tokyo Olympics, the flag bearers of the Chinese delegation were Zhao Shuai and Zhu Ting, the captain of the Chinese women's volleyball team. At the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the flag bearers of the Chinese delegation are speed skater Gao Tingyu and skeleton female athlete Zhao Dan.