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E-mail Xinhua, August 11, 2024
The Paris Olympics officially announced the flagbearers for the closing ceremony of each delegation, with China's flagbearers being weightlifting Olympic champion Li Fabin and Chinese women's hockey team captain Ou Zixia.
31-year-old Li is a Tokyo Olympic champion who successfully defended his title in the men's 61 kg weightlifting category at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
Li began weightlifting at the age of 11, sent by his father. His first coach noted that Li, with his light weight and agility, had exceptional coordination and flexibility, describing him as "a great prospect for weightlifting".
In 2011, Li made his international debut by winning the World Youth Championships. However, with numerous top athletes in the China's national team, he only got his chance to compete in the Olympics close to his 30s.
In his Olympic debut in Tokyo, Li faced tough competition from Indonesian veteran Eko Yuli Irawan in the men's 61 kg weightlifting category. Ultimately, Li claimed victory with a total weight of 313 kg, 11 kg ahead of Irawan.
During the Paris cycle, despite suffering from injuries, Li continued to win gold medals in several international events. This year, at the 2024 Weightlifting World Cup in Phuket, Thailand, he won both the snatch and total weight categories, setting a new world record in the snatch. Li is also the world record holder for the total weight in this category.
In the men's 61 kg weightlifting event on August 7 at the Paris Olympics, Li performed consistently in the snatch, ultimately lifting 143 kg to secure first place and set a new Olympic record. He also holds the Olympic records for the clean and jerk and total weight.
"Being chosen as a flagbearer is something I never even dared to imagine. I am incredibly excited and proud. This is a high recognition of the Chinese weightlifting team and the glory earned through the hard work of generations of weightlifters. I am extremely honored to carry this responsibility," Li said upon learning of his role as flagbearer.
This is Ou Zixia's third Olympic Games. On Friday, she and her teammates competed in the women's hockey final, drawing 1-1 with the Netherlands in regular time and eventually losing 3-1 in the penalty shootout, earning a silver medal to match the best Olympic result in history for the team after Chinese women's hockey team made their Olympic debut in 2000. China took a silver in Beijing 2008.
At the Paris Olympics, the China's women's hockey team advanced from fourth place in the group stage to the finals, where they, dressed in red, fought until the last minute against the defending champions, the Netherlands.
Ou said after the match, "I hope this silver medal will help boost the development of hockey in China, bring the sport to a wider audience, and make more people familiar with our sport."
