By Sportswriter Bai Xu

    BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- To the Chinese sharp shooter, this medal seemed too late.

    Tan Zongliang has been shooting for over two decades and competed in four Olympic Games.

    But for the first time, the 37-year-old veteran saw his national flag hoisted on the Olympic arena for him.

    "I have trained for 23 years, 16 of which I spent on the national team. I devoted all my best years for the sport. This time, I felt myself closest to the gold," said the man from east China's Shandong Province who seized a bronze medal in men's 50-meter pistol.

    "It is a little embarrassing and cruel that I only got a bronze. But if this Olympics is my last...I have no regret," the normally jocose man became emotional.

    FOUR-TIME OLYMPIAN

    Coming from the kite-making city of Weifang, Tan started practicing shooting when he was an eighth grader and entered the Shandong provincial team two years later.

    In 1993, he was selected into the national shooting squad and snatched the gold medal of 50-meter pistol and silver of air pistol at the National Games in the same year.

    Recognized as one of China's ace shooters, he had won numerous gold medals. Even in the 2002 World Cup Final when he had a fever, 39.5 degrees Centigrade, the marksman was still crowned in 50-meter pistol.

    But he could never break the spell cast on his Olympic dream.

    In 1996, the then 25-year-old Tan competed in 10-meter air pistol at Atlanta Olympics, but just ended up as the sixth.

    Four years later, he rallied to Sydney, but just ranked 11th in the qualification round of air pistol event and was shut out of the final.

    In Athens, the scholarly man with glasses vied in both air pistol and 50-meter pistol events. His places were ninth and 10th.

    "I was the Monkey King," he smiled bitterly.

    In the classic Chinese fiction, the omnipotent Monkey King could never break a spell that made his head ache from time to time.

    Indeed. In the competition of men's 10-meter air pistol on Saturday, when the 22-year-old fledging shooter Pang Wei surprised the Chinese people by winning the gold, nobody noticed the disappointment written on the face of this heartbroken shooter, who once again stopped in the qualification round.

    "It was the heaviest blow to me. I asked myself, 'why are you always letting everybody down'?"

    BREAKING THE SPELL

    Tan was determined to give himself a last chance.

    His score of the first four series of the six-series qualification was 96, 94, 93, 96.

    When delighted spectators were amazed at the sharp shooter's return, he lost his nerves in the fifth series and even scored a 8 point.

    Wang Yifu, head coach of the Chinese shooting team and Tan's former teammate, talked to him twice. Chinese spectators sitting behind him encouraged him with applauses.

    When he finished the last series, another 96, the man didn't appear glad at his leading 565-point score. More difficult competition was still ahead.

    The final was full of suspension.

    After Tan, four shooters shared the same score of 563, including 29-year-old Athens runner-up Jin Jong Oh from South Korea and 31-year-old Athens bronze medalist Kim Jong Su from DPR Korea.

    In the first shot, Tan stunned spectators with a 7.9, losing his advantage and dropped to the second. Leading position was taken up by Jin who made a 10.3, highest among all finalists.

    In the second shot, Jin maintained his momentum with a 10.5, while Tan further plunged to the fourth with a 9.2.

    The third shot saw Tan regaining his sharpness a little bit to make a 10.2. He rose to the third but was still 1.3 points behind the leading Jin.

    Amid expectation of Chinese spectators who kept applauding, he made an 8.1 in the fourth shot and fell to the fifth.

    Jin was no better than him. With an 8.5, he swooped to the third.

    In the following five shots, both Jin and Tan mustered up their strength to regain their positions as No. 1 and No. 2.

    Before the last shot, there was a 1.9-point gap between the duo.

    The South Korean shooter seemed to be out of gear in the last shot. His score, an 8.2, incurred regretful hiss.

    Tan, the 2002 and 2006 World Championships gold medalist, had his chance. If he could score a 10.2, he would be the champion.

    The 37-year-old raised his gun. Spectators held their breath.

    He fired.

    A 9.2.

    With the score, he not only lost the chance to rank first, but surrendered his second place to Kim.

    But Tan made his own history.

    "He has tried his best," Wang Yifu was satisfied.

    "I feel ashamed of the bronze. Six coaches have helped me...but it was a reply, to my coaches, to those who helped me and to myself."

    He then bowed to the spectators, with his eyes red, before standing solemnly watching the national flag gradually moving up, although the national anthem was not the Chinese one.

    UNDECIDED FUTURE

    Tan has a faithful fan, his mom Wei Suzhen.

    The 67-year-old granny was a retired worker from local road bureau. Since her son entered the provincial shooting team in 1988, she had few chances seeing him.

    In Wei's drawer she kept a black-and-white photo of Tan, which her neighbor snapped for the boy as a free gift, as the mother couldn't afford to give her son a 0.4-yuan photo when he was a child.

    Whenever the gray-haired lady missed her son, she would look at the photo.

    "To be a sportsman, your task is to pick up medals," Wei once told the shooter.

    Talking about his mother, Tan shed tears.

    "I hope I could have more time in the future to take care of my mom," he choked.

    He said if he retired, his next job would still be in connection with sports.

    But he didn't rule out possibility of continuing his shooting career.

    "If my country needs me, I am always ready."