Long jumper Anju Bobby George will carry the Indian flag in the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympics, Indian Olympic Association Suresh Kalmadi announced in New Delhi on Friday.

Anju is the first Indian to win a bronze medal at the World Athletics meet in Paris and is considered the brightest medal prospect for the country at the Olympics, starting on August 13.

Tennis star Leander Paes, the winner of the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, was India's flag-bearer at Sydney in 2000.

India is sending a 78-member team to Athens.