Nathan Robertson, 33, from Milton Keynes, will carry the England flag during Sunday’s Opening Ceremony in Delhi.

The badminton player was chosen from a list of six athletes who were nominated by their sports.

Danielle Brown (archery), Tom Stalker (boxing), Kate Walsh (hockey), Karen Atkinson (netball) and Mick Gault (shooting) were also on the shortlist.

Robertson said of his selection:  “I was hopeful of being chosen because it’s something so special.  Everything in my career has gone so well. This is one of the icings on the cake.  It’s a great honour.  I don’t think you can get anything better than leading an England team into the opening ceremony of a major Games in front of thousands and thousands of spectators”.

At an England preview press conference in the Games Village today the team’s Chef De Mission Craig Hunter said the team were now focused on sport:  “Our journey to the starting line here in Delhi has been challenging but the mood in the village now is of commitment and energy.

“We are fully focused on sport and we are ambitious for everyone to do well here. 

“We know that this is a unique experience for young first-time athletes who are passionate about achieving here en route to London 2012 or future world-level events in their own sports.

“It is also a great opportunity for Olympic and World Champions to compete in a unique environment here in Delhi at one of the great sporting events in the calendar.  For some it is also an opportunity to set new records and personal bests”.

England competes in Delhi across all 17 sports with 359 athletes and a total team size of 550, including team support staff.  

347 people from the sports of archery, hockey, lawn bowls, weightlifting, gymnastics (artistic section), badminton, netball, squash, wrestling, aquatics, cycling, shooting, table tennis, tennis and weightlifting have all arrived and settled into the village.

Boxing, athletics, rugby 7s and rhythmic gymnastics are still to arrive.

The oldest English athlete is shooter Mick Gault (56) and the youngest is diver Alicia Blagg (13).

For further information about Commonwealth Games England please contact:

For all overall England media enquiries, cycling, gymnastics and wrestling please contact:  England’s Chief Press Officer:  Caroline Searle:  + 91 956 0923858 or [email protected]

For boxing, table tennis, archery and bowls please contact England press officer: Mark Smith on + 91 882 613 1046

For badminton, tennis, squash, weightlifting and netball please contact England press officer Fran Bullock on +91 882 613 1044

For athletics please contact Emma Pickles on:  In Doha from 27 Sept – 3 October on +971 552217126 and in Delhi from October 3 onwards on +91 8981025276.

For aquatics please contact Dave Richards on:  +44 7789 926136

For hockey please contact: Lawrence West +91 882 6130657.  For Rugby 7s please contact: Simon Mills on +44 7702 661214.  For Shooting please contact:  Martyn White 7503 798 349.  NB:  DELHI IS 4.5 HOURS AHEAD OF THE UK

 ALL UK-BASED MEDIA SHOULD MAKE THE CGE’S ENGLAND-BASED OFFICE AS THEIR FIRST POINT OF CONTACT:  (01225) 443998 or [email protected]