New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- More than a hundred people gathered at Dakar's Place du Souvenir Africain, a waterfront plaza overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by portraits of prominent figures from Africa and its diaspora, to greet the flame ahead of the Youth Olympic Games next month.

The event, running from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13, will bring together about 2,700 young athletes to compete in 35 sports across Dakar and the nearby cities of Diamniadio and Saly.

The Youth Olympics, first held in Singapore in 2010, are a smaller version of the Olympic Games for athletes aged 15 to 18.

The flame was carried on Saturday by 100 Senegalese women, known as "lingeer" - a title for queens or royal women in Wolof, one of the main languages of Senega...