Madagascan President Marc Ravalomanana will attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games on Aug. 8 to show his support to Madagascan athletes.

Ravalomanana would lead a big delegation for the opening ceremony, including athletes and officials, a senior sports official told Xinhua Wednesday

Rastephano Olivier, technical director under the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, confirmed that the president, accompanied by Sport Minister Jean-Louis Robinson, would fly to China on Aug. 6.

Seven Madagascan athletes in four different sports have qualified for the upcoming Olympics.

They will compete in running, swimming and boxing as well as the Paralympic Games.

Over 150 athletes and gold medal-winners during the seventh Indian Ocean Island Games, which took place here last August, would also go to Beijing for the Olympic Games.

Olivier said the government would grant more than 900,000 U.S. dollars for the Madagascan delegation's trip in Beijing.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2008)