Bindra is balm to a "star-starved" nation. This is the ninth gold medal for India in the 22 Olympiads in which the country has participated. It is the first since Moscow 1980, the most recent field hockey win. It is also the first individual gold medal in the nation's history, a country that now contains over 1 billion people. What does this all mean? That there will be a Bollywood musical based on this man's life.

"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."

SWIMMING: Japan was stunned when judo star Ryoko Tani fell short in her weight class to earn bronze, but the country is happy again after Kosuke Kitajima's backstroke win earlier today. Within hours, the Tokyo streets were filled with free commemorative newspapers.

BADMINTON: A shock upset in the women's doubles quarterfinals, where unseeded Japanese pair Miyuki Maeda and Satoko Suetsuna overcame the Athens 2004 champion duo of Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen from China. The match started with a dominating 21-8 win for the Chinese in the first set, and turned into a stirring three-set victory as the champions repeatedly slammed the shuttle into the net.

More reaction to the classic 4x100 men's freestyle relay from esteemed Olympic researcher Alan Abrahamson, including quotes from the man who turned in the final leg.

"I'm not going to lie," [Jason] Lezak said. "When I flipped at the 50 and I still saw how far ahead he was, and he was the world-record holder 'til about two minutes before that, when Sullivan led off with the world record, I thought, it really crossed my mind for a split second, there's no way.

"Then I changed. I said, you know what, that's ridiculous. This is the Olympics. I'm here for these guys. I'm here for the United States of America. It's more than -- I don't care how bad it hurts, or whatever, I'm just going to go out there and hit it.

The Iranian swimmer who pulled out of the a breaststroke heat when he was drawn in a heat with an Israeli will not be punished. The Iranian Olympic committee told Olympic authorities that Mohammad Alirezaei withdrew due to illness, and the IOC believed took the alibi at face value.

Why can't we have the Summer Games in the autumn? Television and sports calendars, mostly.

Hugh and Elisabeth McCutcheon, the U.S. men's volleyball coach and his wife, released an open letter two days after her parents were victimized by the random knife attack on Saturday.