Li Hao

A TOTAL of 90 torchbearers will run the second leg of the Universiade torch relay at Shenzhen University (SZU) today, a press conference was told yesterday.

“Half the torchbearers are college students from Shenzhen and other cities, which reflects the essence of the Universiade as a party for young people,” said Yuan Chengyong, vice director of the activity planning department of the Games organizing committee.

Yuan said each of the torchbearers would run 60 meters on the relay route on the campus.

“Although Shenzhen University is a young school with only 28 years of history, it has contributed to the city’s development,” Yuan said.

Xiang Yuanfen, an SZU student, said being a torchbearer was a way to contribute to the Universiade.

Wei Minying, a Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology student, said she was looking forward to having her own Universiade torch. She will be the 26th runner.

Besides the college runners, dignitaries will also join the relay, including Ma Huateng, an SZU graduate and CEO of Tencent, and Zhao Ruirui, a Chinese volleyball player.

Today also marks the official start of the Games’ virtual torch relay on www.sz2011.pengyou.com, a real-name social networking Web site run by Tencent.

College students can log on to the Web site and register as torchbearers or cheerleaders, creating a “Universiade declaration.”

The virtual torch relay will last until the opening of the Games in August.