"I just read the news from the press, and I prefer not to take it seriously since till now nobody told me such a thing," said the19-year-old center who led the Guangdong club to win the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league titles consecutively during the 2003-2006 seasons.

Rumors have been around before the Chinese delegation's departure for Doha that the 2.12-meter Yi was the most promising candidate for China's flag bearer since NBA star Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets, who marched up with the flag in the Athens Olympics in 2004, announced to skip the Dec. 1-15 Asiad.

A senior Chinese sports official said at the Doha airport Tuesday that China's flag bearer will not have to be "tall".

Cui Dalin, deputy chef de mission of the Chinese delegation, told Xinhua that a flag bearer must accord with three conditions, namely "an established world-class athlete, known for a high moral standard and sportsmanship, and good looking".

Yi, who has not been recruited to the national squad until 2004,helped the Chinese men's national basketball team finish the 8th at the Athens Games before winning the Asian Championships title last year.