12 shooters represented India at the Rio Olympics. Not one managed to win a medal.
In fact, apart from Abhinav Bindra and Jitu Rai, none of the shooters even got past the qualifiers of their events.
Now, having finally returned to India - over a week after the shooting events in Rio wrapped up- the NRAI President Raninder Singh has set up a special Review Committee to “examine and identify in a cold and ruthless manner” the reasons for the contingent’s collective failure.
Abhinav Bindra, who has announced his retirement since, has been appointed the Chairman of the review panel. Rio 2016, after all, had seen India send its largest ever shooting contingent to an Olympic Games.
The order also states that only in “matters specifically pertaining to the interview or findings/conclusions if any against or in favour of any Olympic team athlete that maybe examined by the committee, the chairman of the committee shall be exempt participation in toto from such tasks by recusal, however upon his own request he too shall make himself available for interview by the remainder of the panel.”
The order further states that “for this specific issue only, the remaining members of the commission shall officiate jointly, where majority view shall prevail”.
Other members of the committee include sports administrator Manisha Malhotra, NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia and sports journalists Digvijay Singh Deo and Kamesh Srinivasan.
The order empowers the committee to go into a wide range of factors affecting the performance of the athletes.
Also, as per the order, the NRAI Review Committee has been asked to submit its report to the office of the NRAI President within a maximum period of four weeks from the issuance of the order.
The committee is expected to hold its first meeting on the 30th or 31st of this month and it has also been allowed the use of all available technology to help conduct its work smoothly.
(With inputs from PTI)
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