Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra has been asked to head an independent inquiry set up by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) to examine the reasons for the shooting contingents failure to win a single medal at the Rio Olympics despite its largest-ever presence with 12 shooters qualifying for the Games.ESPN understands that Bindra awaits an official intimation from the NRAI on the objectives and frames of reference of the panel before announcing his decision on taking up the role.Bindra, participating in his last Olympics, came the closest among the shooters to winning a medal, finishing fourth in the 10m Air Rifle.The head of the panel will be assisted by an eminent sports administrator and a couple of members of the media, with a mandate to look thoroughly into every aspect of the shooting fiasco in Rio. NRAI President Raninder Singh told ESPN that he expects the inquiry to be complete in the next 2-3 weeks but insisted that he will not be putting in his papers although India has failed to win a shooting medal for the first time since the 2004 Athens Olympics. Raninder said, I am absolutely astounded that we are going back empty handed.He said, Based on data, watching my athletes prepare and their performances in the build up including the last World Cup a month ago, I was absolutely convinced we should have won three medals. It is a big setback for me and the federation but that doesnt mean you sweep it under the carpet and dont deal with it head on.My sport is the only one at the Olympics where weve had so many athletes get so close to getting into finals or actually getting into them. It is not an excuse for not winning medals but you have to see the role of an administrator separately from the role of an athlete. I have taken responsibility for it but I see no reason to be unceremoniously told to march off into the wilderness. I think I can serve my sport better if I use my experience of what Ive seen and learnt over here and after interacting with my athletes and coaches.Besides Bindra, only one other Indian shooter reached a final at Rio - Jitu Rai in the 10m Air pistol, where he finished eighth among the eight finalists in the field. Several others missed earning qualification to the finals by a whisker. Jitu himself, in his preferred event the 50m Pistol, dropped points in his final series to fall out of contention. In the 50m Prone, four-time Olympian Gagan Narang experienced a similar meltdown, with one poor shot ruining his chances of making the cut after a solid start. In the 25m Rapid fire pistol Gurpreet Singh in his first Olympics ended 7th, with the top six making the final. Similarly in the Rifle 3 Positions, Chain Singh and Skeet, Mairaj Khan, faded towards the latter half of their qualifying rounds after igniting hopes of making the cut. Raninder, who watched most of these competitions from the stands, believes this trend needs to be carefully examined.In case of Jitu, I am completely convinced that he misread the wind, he said. In most cases of our athletes we have had a petering out in the last series. This obviously means that there are deficiencies that our athletes have come into the Games with. One is endurance, both mental and technical. It is difficult to quantify this but yes endurance is an issue we have to look into.While some shooters such as Jitu and Narang could count themselves as unlucky to have been waylaid by the elements, others produced performances well below their personal bests. Apurvi Chandela and Ayokina Paul finished 34th and 47th in the 10m Air Rifle, the event that kicked the shooting programme off, recording scores much lower that they were registering in earlier competitions. Heena Sidhu faltered similarly in both her events, finishing 14th in the 10m Air Pistol and 30th in the 25m Pistol, an event she made the final for at the World Cup in Baku barely a month ago. Narang too struggled in his other two events, the 10m Air Rifle and the 3 Positions. The experience of having participated in three previous Olympics counted for little for Manavjit Singh Sandhu in the Trap, as he finished 16th.Eight members of our team were first timers, it was a young team, justifies Raninder. There are people who have not performed also, I am not going to vilify people by taking names but I know who they are, we are going to look into everything.While the here and now of the catastrophe in Rio will be scrutinised thoroughly, more systemic issues require attention as well. Boosted by funding from the government as elite athletes to help them prepare for the Olympics, several shooters such as Ayonika Paul in the 10m Air Rifle, Prakash Nanjappa in the 50m Pistol and Kynan Chenai in Trap, chose to work with their private coaches. Others like Jitu Rai and Gurpreet Singh received expertise from coaches at the Army marksmanship unit in Mhow.This created an unusual situation, with national coaches appointed by the Federation, offering their counsel and guidance but the shooters also turning to their individual coaches for advise. Unlike expenses for trips for foreign exposure, training camps and foreign coaches, that are also borne by the government but routed via the Federation, this funding is delivered directly to the shooters. With the benefit of hindsight, Raninder believes that has contributed to the underperformance of some shooters.This is a new phenomenon at least in shooting, he says. In the past it was always the national coach along with the support staff that would bring the team into the Olympics. Now we have found that funding has been provided at the request of the athletes for individual coaches. You train for one year with a particular coach, who has his own style and an independent thought process. Suddenly they switch to someone else who will obviously have his own take on how things should be done. This multiplicity of everyone trying to help it layers the athlete with more information than he or she needs. I am pretty sure it has caused some damage to us.This sudden downward spiral in Rio notwithstanding, the graph of Indian shooting has been on the upswing over the last decade or so. Once Rajyavardhan Rathore broke a glass ceiling by clinching silver at Athens in 2004 and Abhinav Bindra followed up with his historic gold at Beijing in 2008, academies and training centers sprouted up across the country. Participation at national level tournaments went through the roof and Indian shooters started to win medals at international competitions consistently. Once pistol-shooter Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang delivered two medals at London in 2012, shooting rightfully assumed the status of Indias premier Olympic sport.Quite clearly, Rio has stalled the engine of a smoothly functioning vehicle that was expected to gain speed over these last couple of weeks. The challenge will be to get the repair work started in earnest at the earliest so podium places can be claimed at Tokyo in four years from now. Yogi Berra Jersey . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. Masahiro Tanaka Jersey . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. http://www.wholesaleyankeesjerseys.com/don-larsen-jersey/ .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Greg Bird Jersey . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. Joe DiMaggio Jersey .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Matt Shoemaker once joked about a curse that plagued him every five days. It appears as though the curse has been lifted.Shoemaker scattered six hits and struck out a career-high 13 in his first complete game in the majors, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 on Saturday night.Matty has talked about trying to get over that hump and trying to get outs late in the game to close out, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. Certain times this year he hasnt been able to close the door. Tonight he did.James Shields threw a two-hitter but was outdueled by Shoemaker, who walked none. Shoemaker (5-9) has allowed only four earned runs in his last five home starts.Adam Eaton doubled to lead off the ninth and Melky Cabrera singled with one out to put runners on the corners. Shoemaker hoped for a double-play ball with Todd Frazier at the plate but couldnt get it. Instead, he struck out Frazier and Justin Morneau to end the game.Just trying to execute a really good pitch, Shoemaker said. Strikeouts are good, but in that situation a double play is the best-case scenario.Shields (4-11) allowed a leadoff triple to Yunel Escobar in the first inning but wouldnt allow another hit until the eighth. He walked two, struck out two and threw just 91 pitches.For the most part, I was pounding the strike zone, Shields said. I got behind the count in a few innings and then got myself back into it, got some ground balls. Me and (catcher Dioner Navarro) were on the same page rhythm-wise and it was good.Mike Trout drove in Escobar with a groundout in the first. It was the second straight game and the second time this season the Angels have won without Trout or Albert Pujols hitting safely.Theres not very many timmes that the leadoff hitter decides the game, Shields said.dddddddddddd Its a tough loss right there. We need to win these games, theres no doubt about it, but we need to move on.Chicago has now been held scoreless in its last three games and hasnt scored since July 9 against the Atlanta Braves.White Sox manager Robin Ventura said the frustration is visible and its starting to wear on hitters. However, Ventura isnt worried that it will become a long-term problem.You wear it if its just one game, let alone three, Ventura said. Weve got to figure it out and well get there.The Angels won the three-game series with the victory and the White Sox have won just one series against Los Angeles since 2010.The White Sox optioned infielder Carlos Sanchez to Triple-A Charlotte following the game. A corresponding roster move will be announced Sunday.TRAINERS ROOMWhite Sox: LHP Carlos Rodon played catch from 60 feet on Saturday. Rodon said hed like to return within the next week but is still unsure of his timeline and Ventura said he would likely need a rehab start. The White Sox placed Rodon on the 15-day disabled list on July 10 with a sprained left wrist.UP NEXTWhite Sox: RHP Jacob Turner will make his first major league start since 2014 on Sunday when hes recalled to take Rodons spot in the rotation. Turner missed most of 2015 with elbow issues and has gone 4-7 with a 4.71 ERA in 18 starts for Triple-A Charlotte.Angels: RHP Jered Weaver looks to continue his career dominance of the White Sox in Sundays series finale. Weaver is 11-2 with 1.94 ERA in 14 career starts against Chicago and 7-0 since 2011 Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Cheap Authentic Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Stitched NFL Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys ' ' '