Yang Liwei deep in through before China's final against the United States at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 in Sydney, Australia, Oct. 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Hu Jingchen)
Yang Liwei, captain of China's women's basketball team, was surprised to be named one of China's two flagbearers at the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games.
HANGZHOU, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese basketball player Yang Liwei was taken aback when she learned she had been named as China's flagbearer for the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games.
"It was a real surprise and an extreme honor for me, I am very excited," she said.
Yang and world champion swimmer Qin Haiyang were announced on Friday as flagbearers for the host nation at the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games.
Yang Liwei (L) drives forward during China's semifinal against Australia at the 2023 FIBA Women's Asia Cup in Sydney, Australia, July 1, 2023. (Xinhua/Hu Jingchen)
The women's basketball captain steered her team to end China's 12-year wait for an Asia Cup victory in July, following their silver medal finish at the previous year's World Cup..
"This honor is not for me alone, but for everyone on China's basketball team," the 28-year-old remarked.
"The women's basketball team will go all out in the upcoming Asian Games, and we are confident of achieving our goals," she added.
The opening ceremony of the Asian Games is set for Saturday evening. China has a delegation of 1,329 members, with 886 athletes competing in 407 events across 38 sports. ■