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Israel's medal hopes fall on windsurfer By Rami Hipsh QINDAO, China - There is something deceptive about Qindao, though it's hard to put one's finger on it. There are lots of restaurants, stores and even a kitschy promenade. But at 11 P.M., the streets are empty. It's a strange city in which to hold the Olympic sailing races. Journalists and VIPs travel in special convoys, preceded by a police car or a motorcycle, but beyond the marina, it seems no one has a clue what's going on here. Advertisement "There's no Olympic atmosphere here, no Olympic village," says windsurfer Ma'ayan Davidovich. "I live in a hotel. It's more like Istanbul, where we assembled our equipment on the hotel lawn. Maybe that's good, less pressure." The problem is that in recent days, hordes of Israelis - press, businessmen, VIPs and simple fans - have descended on the calm that is Qindao. Those disappointed with what they saw in Beijing have come to this vacation spot for a last chance to witness Israel winning a medal. And they're doing what Israelis do so well - adding to the pressure. It's money time for Michael Kolganov, who has a crack at making the 500m kayak final; and Alex Averbukh, who needs his rival to choke to have a chance in his final Olympic appearance. Let's face it, Israel is a people under pressure. The heat, the unending wars, the taxes - that's who we are. That is, except for Shahar Zubari, who is currently fourth in the Neil Pryde RS:X windsurfing standings. Maybe it's because he grew up in Eilat - the Israeli Qindao, far from the dangerous influences of the busy center of the country. Perhaps it's the endless hours alone on the sea. In any event, it doesn't look as if the status of being the last realistic hope for a medal for Israel's largest delegation ever, is affecting him. Rather, he's acting as if he were off to another routine race in the Gulf of Eilat. Yesterday, after finishing in fourth place in the 10th race, Zubari folded up his gear and got on his motorcycle to return to his hotel. "I don't have any special preparations for tomorrow," he said. "Just like any day, I'll rest, eat, take food supplements and I'll go to sleep around 11 or 12 P.M." He said the weather forescast was for light winds, but one could not count on the local weatherman. "We'll get up and take whatever wind needed to sail," he added, nonchalantly. Zubari's coolness is spilling over to others. "I don't know what will be tomorrow, but I do know one thing," said Rafa Balilius, his surfing trainer. "Shahar never finished in fourth. He's done it before where on the second to last day he was fourth and still won a medal." Zubari could have been in a better position ahead of today's medal round, but he didn't get off to a good start yesterday. He finally caught a good current and was in second place after the third buoy. However, things then went wrong when he got seaweed caught in his fin and then made a wrong call. He said after the race he wanted to get away from being behind China's Aichen Wang. "I moved right, which was a mistake - I should have stayed on his tail." France's Julien Bontemps took advantage of the miscue, taking third, good enough to lead the standings. Zubari had to settle for fourth. The surprising youth from Eilat is still in contention but is no longer in the driver's seat. He has to not only finish at least second but also beat Bontemps by at least five boats and his other two rivals by at least four boats to to walk away with anything. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Poor sports Here are the top 10 excuses for Israel's poor Olympics showing. Kafka the Zionist Remnants of Kafka's estate found in T.A. raise questions of his belief in Zionism.

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