China's legendary table tennis player Ma Long and artistic swimmer Feng Yu will carry China's flag at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony on Friday evening.

Ma Long of China hits a return during the men's singles semifinal against Alexis Lebrun of France at the WTT Champions Macao 2023 in Macao, south China, April 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

Ma, who has claimed three team golds and two singles titles in previous Olympic Games, will be making his fourth Olympic appearance in Paris.

Having led China's artistic swimming team to a silver medal at Tokyo 2020, the 24-year-old Feng looks to dream bigger in Paris. China has made steady progress in artistic swimming in recent years, sealing golds in all five Olympic routines at the World Championships in Doha.

"The two candidates reflect our recognition of veteran athletes who persist in their careers, as well as the encouragement to the rising events and youngsters," said Zhang Xin, the secretary-general of the Chinese Olympic delegation.

Earlier, China has announced a delegation of 716 members, including 405 athletes, for the Paris Olympic Games. 136 male and 269 female athletes will compete in 236 events across 30 sports at the July 26-August 11 Games.