Shooter Bindra wins India's first solo gold

BEIJING (Reuters) - Abhinav Bindra won India's first individual Olympic gold medal on Monday with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the men's 10m air rifle.

Bindra had been fourth after qualifying but had a brilliant final round and the Indian, the epitome of tranquillity, hit a near perfect 10.8 on his last shot to pull in front of Henri Hakkinen of Finland, who fell to bronze with a poor final shot.

That late stumble by the Finn allowed China's Zhu Qinan, the defending Olympic champion and heavy favourite, to salvage a bitter day with silver. Zhu sobbed uncontrollably on the podium and again at a news conference.

"I can't describe how happy I am," the ever-calm Bindra told journalists. "It's the thrill of my life. That's about it. It's hard to describe. I just went for it. I knew I was lying in fourth. Thankfully it went my way and I just went for it."

Zhu suffered a lapse in concentration in the qualification earlier when he had to rush his final shots to make the time limit, dropping to second behind Hakkinen ahead of the final.

"I was under tremendous pressure and at times I felt really agitated," Zhu said just before stepping on the podium and breaking down in tears. "But I tried my best."

Moments later at the news conference Zhu was crying harder.

"I've been through a lot of hardship and shed a lot of tears in the last four years, there have been successes and failures," he said. "After 2004 my only aim has not changed. I had so very much wanted to be a champion at the Beijing Olympics."

He added: "In the last two rounds I made several mistakes because I had used up all my physical and mental energy."

Bindra, who faced criticism for failing to deliver on the great promise he showed as a child, said he was not thinking about making history in India with a first individual gold medal. In fact, he said, he was "not thinking about anything".

"I was just trying to concentrate on shooting," he said. "I wasn't thinking of making history. I was two points behind the leaders. I was just trying to shoot good shots. I wanted to shoot well and shoot aggressively. And that's what I did."

His 10.8 of a possible 10.9 on his final shot sparked loud celebrations from group of fans from India.

Hakkinen, who was even with Bindra before his mere 9.7 on his last shot, said that crucial shot felt like the nine before it.

"It just wasn't my turn," he said. "It shows that shooting is a sport from the first to the final shot. Every one counts."

Randhir Singh, Indian Olympic Association secretary-general and former shooter who was present at the range, was stricken by nerves as the competition reached its climax.

"I haven't prayed so much in my life. With the second last shot they tied together and then he (Bindra) shot a 10.8. It couldn't have got better," he told Indian television.

Bindra won the 2006 world championships and finished seventh in Athens four years ago.

Understanding Vince Young

There was a report this weekend that Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young was just about ready to hang up the spikes after his rookie season — a season in which he won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

"It was crazy being an NFL quarterback," Young told the Associated Press. "It wasn't fun anymore. All of the fun was out of it. All of the excitement was gone. All I was doing was worrying about things."

Of course, this prompted a chorus of hand-wringing by writers put off by VY's apparent lack of commitment. SI's Peter King ended his recap of the situation with a sarcastic "Now there's a solid guy."

But I'm not jumping on Young for this one. Put yourself back into Young's shoes coming off the end of his rookie season. In the previous year:

• Young led Texas to an undefeated season, capturing the National Championship by winning one of the greatest bowl games ever, a 41-38 victory over USC in the Rose Bowl in which Young threw for 267 yards and rushed for 200 more.
• He got snubbed in the Heisman voting, finishing a distant second to USC's Reggie Bush. Bush, who rushed for 1,700 yards as part of a tandem with LenDale White, received the highest percentage of first place votes ever at 84%, despite the fact Young combined for over 4,000 yards — 3,000 passing, 1,000 rushing — and 38 touchdowns. I can't say I think Young should have necessarily won the award, but his performance on the field merited much stronger consideration.
• During the combine process, rumors swirled about Young reportedly scoring a 6 out of 50 on his Wonderlic test, designed to measure intelligence. From that point on, Young became the "athletic but stupid" QB of the class of 2006. Meanwhile, USC's Matt Leinart was touted as the smart option, feeding into the white QB/black QB stereotypes (of which all black quarterbacks are deeply aware).
• Passed up in the 2006 draft by the hometown Houston Texans, who took NC State DE Mario Williams instead. New Orleans then took Bush second, followed by Tennessee picking Young third. Young agreed to a five-year deal, with an option for a sixth, with $25.7 million guaranteed and an overall value that could reach $58 million with option and roster bonuses and salary.
• After watching Kerry Collins get killed for three games (two of which Young came in to mop-up at the end of blowouts), Young was installed as the Titans' starter. After losing his first two starts to drop the Titans to 0-5, Young led Tennessee to an 8-3 finish. They missed the playoffs by one game, but Young won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and was named to the Pro Bowl.
• According to the AP story, Young said "there was so much going on with my family" during that time. There was no elaboration.

Now that doesn't sound like a bad year. Actually, it sounds like a great year (with the exception of any personal troubles). But think about how tired you would be after doing all that in a span of 12 months. From the pressure of an undefeated college season (in Texas no less) to the Heisman voting, to the ugly and exhausting pre-draft process, to learning a new offensive system, to becoming a rookie starter in a playoff hunt. I mean, god damn — that's a lot of stuff going on for one dude. Can you really blame him for at least wondering if he was up for beginning the whole thing over again?

Part of the problem for Young is that this story feeds into an existing narrative about him, that he lacks "commitment" to being a professional QB. He's had some instances of being late to team meetings or breaking other rules that got him in trouble with Fisher. He once missed a team flight to a road game. Elitist sports writers hate it when players, especially young ones, pull that kind of crap. It goes against their "play the game the right way" ethos. (Just because I like and respect King's work doesn't mean he's not an elitist.)

But I understand. Sometimes, no matter how good a situation looks on the outside, sometimes people just want to tell the world to eff off and go live in peace. No more reporters hounding him. No more criticism about his style of play or low completion percentage. No more Michael Vick comparisons. Just get away. After a year like that, I understand.

But when Young gives a candid interview about the mental toll of his rookie year, all of a sudden he's a mark for snippy "Now there's a solid guy" comments. And the media missed a very important point to the story — that even though he was worn to the brink of quitting, he found his inspiration, got back to football, and led the Titans to a 10-6 record and a wild-card berth. Why was that not mentioned in King's recap? Overcoming adversity — that's a good thing, right?