Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

    JERUSALEM, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Michael Kolganov will be the Israeli flag bearer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, local daily Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday, citing the Olympic Committee of Israel.

    The 33-year-old athlete, who made aliya from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1995, will be competing in his third Olympics and is one of only five Israeli athletes to win an Olympic medal, after having claiming the bronze medal of the men's 500 meters K1 at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

    "I'm very excited," Kolganov said. "It's a massive honor for me to lead out the delegation at the opening ceremony. I hope to fill the hearts of all the citizens of Israel with pride."

    In late June, Israel set 38 athletes who will represent Israel at the Beijing Olympics.

    Gilad Lustig, director of Israel's Elite Sport Department, a body set up in 1984 to oversee the selection of athletes for the Olympics, said in April that "I hope we claim between one or two medals and reach between six and eight finals."

    Israel must claim a medal in the sailing, while the second might come from tennis or gymnastics, Lustig added.