GUANGZHOU, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Jin Ziwei, a member of China's winning team of the women's quadruple sculls at the 2008 Olympic Games, will carry the national flag into the Asian Games opening ceremony Friday night, the Chinese delegation announced here Thursday night.

It was a surprise choice because China's flag bearers at the previous

Asian Games and the Olympic Games were usually basketball players.

The 25-year-old Jin, who was not very popular in China despite her win at the Olympics, was believed to be chosen largely because of the absences of NBA stars Yao Ming and Yi Jianlin.

Former Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang, swimmer Zhang Lin and badminton ace Lin Dan had been reported to be flag-bearing candidates.