It is a consistent tradition that the flag bearer of the China delegation at the opening ceremony is the men's basketball team. Before that, the flag bearer of China team was always the men's basketball team. Since 1984 China returned to the Olympic Games, five flag bearers, Wang Libin, Song Tao, Song Ligang, Liu Yudong and Yao Ming, have all come from the China Men's Basketball Team.
Before this Olympic Games, the speculation about the flag bearer of China team mainly revolved around Yi Jianlian and Wang, as well as badminton stars. However, Dānlín has already withdrawn from the competition early. At the flag-raising ceremony on the 25th, Wang kept his mouth shut about this and didn't want to say more. Yi Jianlian, on the other hand, was relaxed and indifferent among the athletes from China who attended the flag-raising ceremony. He also communicated and smiled with his teammates from time to time.
After the flag-raising ceremony, Yi Jianlian was blocked by reporters at the entrance of the athletes' living area, and the topic naturally could not be separated from the topic of flag bearers. Although Yi Jianlian kept a low profile and didn't want to say anything more, after being questioned many times, he said "thank you to the Chinese Olympic Committee for giving him this opportunity" and confirmed that he would be the flag bearer of the opening ceremony of the China Olympic delegation.