China's Flag-Bearer Standard
Last week Xiao Tian, deputy chief de mission of the Chinese Olympic delegation, announced professional basketball player Yi Jianlian would carry the flag for China during the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday that Xiao felt China's flag-bearer should represent the image of China. He said, "He or she needs to have an impressive record in sports, be tall, handsome and influential."
Commentaries on Weibo ranged from approval to extreme disapproval as many thought French Open tennis champion Li Na should have carried the flag. Had she been chosen she would have been the first female to do so since China regularly started competing in the summer Olympic Games beginning in 1984 at the Los Angeles games. And guess who carried the flag that year? Wang Libin. Guess what sport he played? Basketball.
At the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, China's flag bearer for the opening ceremony was Song Tao. Song's legacy to basketball was that he was the first Chinese man to be drafted by the NBA. The Atlanta Hawks picked him up but then quickly let him go because he had bad knees.
At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, the year of the US "Dream Team," China's flag bearer for the opening ceremony was Song Ligang, a basketball player from Shanxi Province.
At the 1996 Olympic ceremony in Atlanta the flag bearer for China was Liu Yudong. Liu is considered to be the greatest player in the history of the China Basketball Association (CBA) and scored a record 8,387 points during his career. He also carried the flag during the opening ceremony at the 2000 Olympic Games in Australia.
Guess who carried the flag at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and then again in Beijing at the Bird's Nest in 2008, it was Yao Ming, China's most celebrated professional athlete.
Veteran volleyball player Zhao Ruirui questioned the decision, noting on her microblog after she found out Yi was going to be China's flag-bearer by saying, "Why not consider a female flag-bearer?"
The unique aspect behind the role of a nation's flag bearer during an opening Olympic ceremony is to give the world the opportunity to learn more about its athletes.
I now know who Katie Taylor is because she carried the flag for Ireland during Saturday's opening ceremony. She's a three-time world champion boxer.
I now know who Valentina Vezzali is, the beautiful 38-year-old Italian fencer who carried the flag for Italy on Saturday.
Most people who watched the opening ceremony now know who Mariel Zagunis is because she carried the flag for the US. Michael Phelps announced he wouldn't be available for the honor because he had to swim the following morning and athletes who participate in the opening gala have to stand for several hours on end to the see whole event through.
Two people who would have been solid choices to represent not only China but also the competitive spirit of their country are Du Li and Zou Shiming.
Du Li is a member of China's female shooting team. She won gold at Athens 2004 and again at Beijing 2008. On the first day of the Beijing Olympic Games she gave birth to her son, and then later went on to win gold in the 50m rifle three positions event, setting a new world record.
Zou Shiming is 1.65 meters, weighs 50 kilograms, and is one of the best flyweight fighters in the world. He's almost single-handedly put China on the boxing map, which is a big accomplishment considering the sport used to be illegal in this country. He won gold at the Beijing Olympic Games and he'll probably do it again at London.
The first Chinese athlete to ever carry the flag for China during an opening games ceremony was Liu Changchun at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles. He didn't have much of choice to be the flag bearer because he was the only person on the team. It took him a month to travel to Los Angeles by ship and it was a trek he claimed prevented him from performing at his best. He was a sprinter.
Of all the progress sport has made in China it is disappointing that China's Olympic Committee hasn't thought it necessary to change the profile of its flag-bearer for the Summer Olympic opening ceremony. What kind of message does it send to China's other Olympic athletes who are routinely over-looked when it comes to carrying the flag? Since when is being tall and handsome a criteria for anything, let alone carrying a nation's flag?
It will be interesting to see who'll carry the flag for China at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Hopefully by then China will have out grown the standard it has always relied on for the opening ceremony. With so much talent to choose from it shouldn't be a difficult adjustment.