Indian skier happy just to finish after snowy Olympic race

By DANIELLA MATAR
AP Sports Writer

BEIJING (AP) — Winning gold isn’t always the goal. Indian skier Arif Khan set his sights on completing both runs of the men’s giant slalom at the Olympics and he managed to do just that. Khan finished nearly 38 seconds behind gold medalist Marco Odermatt in a race that was held amid heavy snow and with poor visibility. More than 40 racers failed to complete both runs. Khan is India’s only athlete at the Beijing Games and he says his main aim is to encourage people to see his hometown in Kashmir as a vacation spot for winter sports.