| Fadhil Yunus |
MOHD Fakhri bin Haji Ismail has been named as Brunei Darussalam’s flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics at the Maracana Stadium on August 5 in Brazil.
The sprinter has been scheduled to take part in the men’s 100m event at the Estadio Olimpico Joao Havelange, the home of athletics at the Rio Olympics.
Md Fakhri will be carrying the national flag during the Parade of Nations which will thrust the Brunei Darussalam contingent including fellow athletics competitor Maizurah Abd Rahim and badminton player Jaspar Yu Woon Chai under the global spotlight.
The 25-year old will only be the fifth flag bearer to represent Brunei in the Olympics and the fourth competitor who contests in athletics.
“I feel honoured to be selected as mostly the honour of carrying the national flag is reserved for top athletes,” Mohd Fakhri told the Weekend Bulletin yesterday.
“I am very fortunate to be chosen as a flag bearer and probably this is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of carrying the flag at the Olympics which is a major event.
“It will be a memorable and a beautiful moment which I will never forget,” he concluded.
Md Fakhri first grabbed headlines after breaking Mohd Arman Haji Sanip’s 18-year old record after clocking a time of 10.61s in the 100m at the Perak Open Athletics Championships just before the SEA Games in Singapore.
Md Fakhri will be carrying the national flag
The 25-year old runner, who broke into the national team after beating a runner during the Inter-Ministry Sports Festival in 2012, bettered his national record with a time of 10.59s to book a place in the 100m finals at the SEA Games.
Having gained recognition after his breakthrough in the regional scene, Md Fakhri brought his success to the international scene after qualifying for the 100m heats in the IAAF World Championships in Beijing last August.
The Brunei sprinter rubbed shoulders with Olympic frontrunner Usain Bolt during the heats in an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and now both are in the same city and in the same tournament.
Brunei Darussalam will be the 29th nation to parade at the Maracana Stadium which turn of appearing in front of a worldwide audience is based on alphabetical order of the host country.
In keeping with Olympic traditions which began in 1896, Greece will be the first country to walk out and Brazil will be the last.
Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, will fly the flag for the United States after a vote by fellow US team members.
The opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics will get underway at 7am today n Brunei.
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