Yi Jianlian to fly China's flag in London

LONDON - Chinese basketball player Yi Jianlian has been picked to become the national flag bearer during the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games on July 27, Sports Weekly reported on Wednesday.

Sina.com, one of China's largest news portals, claimed to have received a text message from Yi saying the announcement will be made official later today.

Chinese basketball player Yi Jianlian has reportedly become the flag bearer for his country at the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games on July 27. [Photo/CFP]

A top Chinese sports official confirmed Tuesday that China's flag-bearer for London Olympic opening ceremony will be a basketball player, ruling out the chances of star hurdler Liu Xiang and 2011 French Open women's singles winner Li Na.

"We will continue the tradition (in terms of choosing flag-bearer)," Xiao Tian, deputy chef de mission of the Chinese Olympic delegation, told Xinhua after arriving at London Heathrow Airport.

There has been a lot of guessing about who will carry the Chinese flag in London. Apart from Liu and Li, Dallas Mavericks player Yi Jianlian, Olympic badminton champion Lin Dan and world champion swimmer Sun Yang were also among the candidates.

Xiao's remark indicated that Yi might be the winner.

Yi, 24, started his career as a professional player in South China's Guangdong province. He joined NBA in 2007 and played for the Washington Wizards before he came back to China amid the NBA lock-out.

China has the tradition of choosing basketball players as flag-bearers for the Olympic Games opening ceremony. Former NBA star Yao Ming was the fag-bear of the Chinese sports delegation at both Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004.

Xiao said earlier that China's flag-bearer should well represent the image of China. "He or she needs to have an impressive record in sports, be tall, handsome and influential."

Chinese Olympians have so far all arrived in Britain. Xiao said he has full confidence in Chinese athletes and believes that they will have excellent achievement in London.

China fielded a 396-strong delegation featuring 33 Olympic champions to the July 27-Aug 12 Games in London. China captured 51 golds, 21 silvers and 28 bronzes in Beijing, relegating the United States to the second place.

China's flag-bearer Yao Ming carries the national flag as he leads his country's Olympic team during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium, in this Aug 8, 2008 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

China's Sun Yang poses with his gold medal and national flag after the men's 1500m freestyle final at the 14th FINA World Championships in Shanghai, in this July 31, 2011 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

Liu Xiang of China holds up his flag at the men's 110 meters hurdles final at the IAAF 2011 World Championships in Daegu, in this Aug 29, 2011 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]