Badminton player Bao Chunlai was formally appointed the national flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Doha Asian Games, China's portal website sina.com reported today.

Chinese badminton player Bao Chunlai.[qq.com]

Rumors had previously circulated that the top pick would be basketball sensation Yi Jianlian.

Cui Dalin, deputy head of the Chinese sports delegation had previously revealed that diver Guo jingjing, table tennis player Wang Nan, snooker player Ding Junhui and another badminton player Lin Dan were the four final choices.

But another Chinese portal website sohu.com said, the nation's flag bearer hasn't been affirmed till now. The Chinese delegation will have the secret sealed till the last moment.

Xiao Tianhua, vice deputy head of the Chinese delegation said to sohu.com that, "The final person will not be announced ahead of opening ceremony so as to pleasantly surprise the audiences.

Bao, born in the south China's Hunan Province, is main force of the China badminton team. Tall and flexible, Bao joined the national badminton team after clinching the men's single in Guangzhou world championships six year ago.

Bao has made impressive progress with the national team, recently winning the singles title at the recent 2006 Korean Open.

The 15th Doha Asian Games will kick off today at 11.00 p.m. (Beijing Times).