New Delhi: India's men's hockey coach, Michael Nobbs, said on Tuesday that the turf at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium has no issues with it, putting aside reports in the media that suggested the coach was not happy with the uneven bounce on top of one of the striking circles during the recently concluded Test series between India and South Africa.
"There are no issues with the pitch. It just needs a bit more water. It's absolutely fit to play," Nobbs said while addressing a press conference conducted by Hockey India here on Tuesday.
The main turf of the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium was re-laid before the World Cup in 2010 and will be used for the men's and women's Olympic qualification tournament to be held from February 18 to 26.
Also reacting to questions surrounding the exclusion of former captains Rajpal Singh and Arjun Halappa from the 18-member squad picked for the tournament, Nobbs said the team has been selected from the best available resources.
"Selection policy is with the selectors of Hockey India. I'm not going into that [team selection]. We had to pick the best right now who can win games for us and that's what we have done. Now we need to focus on what we need to do in the next few weeks to qualify [for the Olympics]."
Rajpal and Halappa had come out in the media after being left out, alleging that they have been treated badly. While Rajpal maintained that he was not given a chance to prove his fitness, Halappa said he was paying the price for supporting the World Series Hockey (WSH).
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