The 41-year-old is making his seventh Games appearance in Paris, with four bronze medals already to his name.

The wheelchair basketball player had been nominated to carry the British flag alongside wheelchair tennis player Lucy Shuker at the Place de la Concorde, an honour bestowed upon him by his fellow peers.

But it was seeing his 15-year-old son Benjamin proudly cheering his dad on from the stands that finally brought Bywater to tears.

“I still get emotional now because it was a dream for me,” said Bywater, who is part of Aldi’s Nearest and Dearest programme in partnership with Team GB, helping to maximise support and minimise potential distractions for athletes so that they can focus on their performance.

“Just to walk in front with the flag, it gave me goosebumps when I walked into the stadium.

“The people on the streets were 10, 12, 15 rows deep and that was a very special moment in my life to see.

“But seeing my son in the crowd waving his flag that said Bywater number seven and shouting ‘dad’ was very emotional.

” It was also special because I was voted for by the athletes and my peers. I loved every aspect of it.”

It was a quick turnaround for Bywater, who took to the court for GB’s first game of the tournament at 10.30am the next day.

The Brit admitted that he didn’t stay for the remainder of the ceremony, instead hopping on a bus back to the athlete village after the parade and in bed by quarter to 11 to make sure he was well-rested for the team.

Britain stormed to a 76-55 victory over Germany on their opening day of competition, with the flagbearer coming on for the final three minutes to help extend their lead.

And with a win coming in front of a raucous crowd at the Bercy Arena, Bywater believes that Britain have made a statement of intent as they chase a maiden Paralympic gold medal in Paris.

“You could feel the energy in the arena when we got here,” he said.

“The energy in that stadium is incredible.

“I think we sent a message today. We sent a clear message that we’re here and we’re ready to play.

“We have a fantastic team but so do Germany and do beat a team like that by over 20 points that sent a big message. The boys did a great job today and this is a very exciting time for us.”

Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024.