Lee Ying Shi (L) dan Faustina Woo
Wai Sii (R) posing with their silver
medals during the 25th Sea Games
held in Laos in 2009. Sixteen-year
-old Lee has been given the honour
to carry the nation's flag at tonight's
Guangzhou Asian Games opening
ceremony.Picture: Infofoto

Sixteen-year-old to carry national flag

Sixteen-year-old Lee Ying Shi has been given the honour to carry the nation's flag at tonight's Guangzhou Asian Games opening ceremony.

A multi-titled wushu exponent, Lee will lead the way for the country's contingent of nine athletes that Brunei has sent to compete in five sports during the 16th edition of the Games.

With medals at the 4th World Traditional Wushu Championship, 3rd Indoor Asian Games and 25th Southeast Asian Games to her name, there probably isn't a better candidate to hoist the flag than the young Lee, who will compete in the one-day Long Fist (Changquan) event next Tuesday.

Apart from wushu, Brunei will also be seeing action in cue sports, equestrian, fencing and karate-do.

The hotly-anticipated opening ceremony in the fabled Pearl River's Haixinsha Island promises to dazzle with light and sound, with 45 boats being used just to ferry the thousands of athletes from the 45 participating countries.

As the first Asian Games opening ceremony to be held in a venue other than a stadium, the show's director has promised the event will surprise the world.

China has promised a traditional, water-themed opening ceremony for the games to kick start the country's biggest sports event since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Organisers are keeping the identity of the final torch bearer a closely guarded secret, along with the method of lighting the Asian Games cauldron on Friday evening.

Associated Press, however, reported that the Asian Games cauldron might be lit by Chinese table tennis great Deng Yaping, current table tennis player Ma Lin, two-time Olympic judo gold medalist Xian Dongmei or footballer Rong Zhixing

"It will definitely bring us an unexpected surprise," said He Jiqing, deputy director of opening and closing ceremonies for the Games.

"The lighting of the fire will be full of Chinese characteristics. Chinese people will love it and this is something they are familiar with," he told reporters.

While the grand splendour of the opening of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 will be hard to match, the Asian Games ceremony will draw on traditional southern Chinese culture and feature a strong watery theme given its setting on tiny Haixinsha island on the Pearl River which runs through the heart of Guangzhou.

Apart from the mysterious fire-lighting ritual, the opening ceremony will feature 6000 performers, a blitz of fireworks and athletes will enter on a flotilla of boats.

Citizens in the area have reportedly been urged to switch on their lights during the ceremony to complement a hail of lighting installations to provide a glittering backdrop, though a pall of smog blanketing the city in the run-up could dim such an effect.

"We are told it would be clear weather tomorrow night and everything will be good and smooth," He said.

When contacted yesterday Brunei's chef de mission to the Games had nothing but good things to say when asked about how the international multi-sport event was panning out so far.

"In a single word; excellent!" Hj Muhd Zamri DP Hj Hamdani told The Brunei Times yesterday.

"They (Guangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee - GAGOC) have prepared very well in every area. In terms of security to... you name it, everything is in place.

"The food is, I should say, above excellent.

"Everything is available here. Southeast Asian, East Asian, European ... everything. Most of the food is halal and there is even a halal McDonalds outlet here.

"The accommodation is international standard and there are no complaints. We were also given four liaison officers to help us around.

"Guangzhou has done a good job," he added.

The wushu and fencing team have already started training at their respective venues. Karate have only had sessions at the Athletes Village and will be able to use the official training venue tomorrow.

Courtesy from Brunei Times