Selection for Olympic qualifiers tough: Nobbs

New Delhi: Having tested a number of players from a pool of 45 during the Test series against South Africa, India's men's hockey coach Michael Nobbs says there are 25-26 players who can play for India but selecting the final 18 for the Olympic qualifiers will not be easy.

India have seen four players making their debut in the five-match series against South Africa, in which the hosts enjoy a winning lead of 3-1 with one match left to play. SK Uthappa, Chinglensana Singh, Harbir Singh and Kothajit Singh have all thrown their names in the mix with impressive outings.

"There are around 25-26 players who can play for India. We have tested everybody in this series. Uthappa was brilliant and Kothajit was good as well. They have put themselves in the mix to be selected. So it would be difficult now to pick the final 18 for the Olympic qualifiers," Nobbs said.

Touching on India's defence, which still appears a little dodgy, Nobbs said the team has to work on it before the qualifiers and get to the desired levels.

"I think this is one area where we have a fair bit of work to do in the next four weeks. We are allowing a lot of penetrations," he accepted, adding, "But we have a good base (of players) now. Harbir (Singh), Ignace (Tirkey) all are good options. So we are heading in the right direction," he said.

With series in the bank, Nobbs said the final Test on Sunday will witness some more experimentation.

"Danish Mujtaba, Manpreet Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh will play tomorrow," the coach confirmed.

When asked how this series has helped India prepare for the all-important Olympic qualifiers, Nobbs said it has been a confidence-booster and good preparation ground for the team.

"This was a tough drill for us. If we can beat them (South Africa), I think we can beat teams like Canada, France, Poland, Italy and the United States, whom we are playing in the qualifiers."

The final Test of series against South Africa on Sunday will be followed by a gap of about four weeks before the Olympic qualifiers commence on February 18.