China said table tennis star Ma Long and artistic swimming team captain Feng Yu would carry the country’s flag at the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on Friday.

Zhang Xin, the secretary-general of the Chinese Olympic delegation, said the pair’s selection demonstrated a “recognition of veteran athletes and an encouragement to the rising stars”.

The Chinese Olympic Committee confirmed the appointments in a post of social media platform Weibo. The opening ceremony, which will take place on the River Seine, starts at 1.30am on Saturday, Hong Kong time.

Ma is a five-time Olympic gold medallist and is widely recognised as one of the sport’s greatest players, while Feng won silver at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

In discussing the reasoning behind the decision, Zhang said Ma reflected the “persistence” needed to be an Olympic athlete for that long, while Feng had led her team to a series of excellent results on the world stage.

“For Feng Yu to be the flag bearer of the opening ceremony, it is not only a recognition of the sport’s development, it is also an encouragement for the growth and improvement of young athletes.”

Ma said he was “deeply proud” to be selected as a flag bearer, noting that it was not only a personal recognition, but it was also the result of the “accumulation and legacy of the national table tennis champions”.

“Table tennis is not just a sport, but also a kind of story and a song of long-time dedication,” Ma told state media.

Feng said it was her “greatest honour as an artistic swimmer” to attend the Games’ opening ceremony.

“This is my second Olympic games, I am looking forward to demonstrating to the world the spirit of Chinese athletes in the competition venues, I am looking forward to our whole team having a breakthrough in the competition,” she told state media.

In Tokyo, the honour of carrying the Chinese flag fell to volleyball team captain Zhu Ting and Taekwondo champion Zhao Shuai.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51kwLG70a1mnKCZo65wrdGtoJyklWSAc4OQcG9rZ6CWv6q%2FjKijsqWgnrC0ecKhoKeZXamuo7jEZquepp6ewG6%2F05qpZqWRYrmwusZmqrChnaKys3nFnqWgZamqeqOxjJ%2Bjmp9dl7KivsSrqg%3D%3D