NEW DELHI -- The Beijing Olympic flame arrived in New Delhi in the early morning of Thursday on the second leg of its relay in Asia as it makes its way to the Beijing.

Indian ace tennis star Leander Paes speaks during a press conference on Beijing Olympic torch relay in New Delhi, India, April 16, 2008. [Xinhua]

The Olympic flame, carried in a specially-designed lantern on a chartered plane, was flied to New Delhi from Islamabad, Pakistan.

Upon arrival, the Olympic flame and the whole delegation were welcomed by a cheering crowd, among whom are President of India Olympic Committee Kalmandi and Chinese Ambassador to India Zhang Yan.

The flame delegation is headed by Jiang Xiaoyu, vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games, who carried the flame lantern. A Indian girl offered a bunch of flowers to Jiang.

The Olympic torch relay, the first time for New Delhi, will start Thursday afternoon along three-kilometer-long Raji Path between the Indian Gate and the Indian Presidential Palace. 70 torch bearers will take part in the relay.

Seventy runners attending Olympic torch relay

Seventy torchbearers are set to carry the Beijing Olympic flame here on Thursday for the 11th leg of its global journey.

The 70 torchbearers will cover a distance of just 2.5 kilometers from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate starting from the 4:00 pm local time.

The torchbearers include sportspersons, Bollywood stars and politicians, according to Suresh Kalmadi, the president of Indian Olympic Committee.

The country's top current and former athletes, including sprint stars Anju Bobby George, PT Usha, ace tennis star Leander Paes, shooters Manavjit Singh and Abhinav Bindra, boxer Akhil Kumar and hockey player Dhanraj Pillay, will be part of the run.

Actors Saif Ali Khan, Amir Khan, Sagarika Ghatge of "Chak De India" fame and Sarod player Ayan Ali Khan will also be seen in action.

Sachin Tendulkar, who was supposed to carry the flames, has pulled out at the last minute.

"He is not well and he has also an Indian Premier League captain's meeting to attend. But he has shown his solidarity for the Olympic movement," Kalmadi said on Wednesday.

Out of 70 torchbearers, 47 have been chosen by India and five by the BOCOG, the Beijing Organizing Committee of Olympic Games, while Olympic presenting partners have selected 19 runners.

Kalmadi expects for a great relay in New Dehli. "The entire world is looking to India and the expectation is that the torch relay will be one of the greatest shows here," said Kalmadi.

"We are hopeful that we will be able to live up to the expectations of the world community."

"We do not want to see a repeat of what happened in Paris and London. It is a sacred torch and its safety is our responsibility, " Kalmadi told a press conference.

"We are not afraid of any movement. They can have the movement anywhere else. We just want the torch relay to be safe. The safety of the torch is our responsibility and we are hopeful that the relay will go on well without any disruption," added he.