Pillay said though eighth-ranked England would be the main opponent to beat in the Chile qualifers, to be held from March 1 to 9, India must not take other teams for granted.

“Obviously England is the major hurdle before us. But the whole world closely watches the Olympics and World Cup qualifiers. Every team comes well-prepared for these events. So we should not take any side lightly as losing one point would pile the odds against us,” Pillay said.

The four-time Olympian said though the present team was not one of the strongest sides India ever had, yet its preparation was good enough to see them through.

“The training was good. They were completely focused on it and the players were not allowed to play for their departments. Also, they returned from a camp in Australia. They appear to be well prepared,” he said.

“But we should not be over-confident. Because England look very confident and they have said they can beat India,” he said.

Unpleasant episode

About the unpleasant episode involving forward Rajpal Singh and coach Joaquim Carvalho during the Indian team’s preparatory stint in Perth, Pillay said such incidents should not be brought before the media.

“Every player, every athlete plays for his pride. We read a lot of things, Rajpal saying something then backtracking. If anything happened, it should not be brought to the media. “Differences happen in a team and it’s a normal thing,” he said.

Training guns at the Indian Hockey Federation, Pillay said the IHF could not make the best use of the Premier Hockey League. “PHL is a great platform. But the IHF could not take advantage of it. How many players who do well in PHL are in the Indian team?

“Players like Len Aiyappa, Arjun Halappa, the player of the tournament this year, and many others at least deserve a place in the national camp. But where are they?” he said.