The first badminton world champion of Jiangsu province Sun zhi'an said on Sunday that the Olympic flame transfers encouragement and power to the victims of the earthquake in Sichuan province.

"The sacred flame ignites the determination of the Chinese people to conquer any difficulties in the aftermath of the earthquake. And it is going to encourage quake survivors to keep their spirit and hopes up and bestow upon them the power to build brighter future," said Sun, the first torchbearer in the relay in east China's Jiangsu province.

"It is hopefully and definitely that we can prevail", he added.

The Suzhou leg torch relay of Beijing Olympic Games kicked off at 8:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, starting from the city's Suzhou Amusement Park and ending at the Century Square of the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park.

(Xinhua News Agency May 25, 2008)