Sentence:  The degradation of the <WSD>torch</WSD> worldwide— it had to be snuffed out more than once to protect it from protesters—even provoked angry Chinese students to mobilise “150 strong and energetic runners” to defend it in Australia, raising the spectre of violence. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A stick with a flame on one end, used chiefly as a light source; a similarly shaped implement with a replaceable supply of flammable material.