The controversial new blue turf that will be used for the London Olympics has claimed its second victim after India midfielder Gurwinder Singh Chandi pulled his hamstring during the match against Great Britain on Thursday because of the slippery surface.

Chandi has been ruled out of the ongoing Olympic test event and will take at least 10 days to recover, India coach Michael Nobbs informed. Chandi becomes the second player to be hurt on this turf after Australian Graeme Begbie tore his anterior cruciate ligament.

Nobbs, expectedly, was livid. “The turf here is in a pathetic state. Today we have lost Chandi, tomorrow it could be someone else. There is little we can do now but I hope the organisers hold as many matches as possible on this turf before the Olympics. The more matches you have on this, the better it will become,” Nobbs told DNA from London.

Another worry for Nobbs, apart from the slippery turf, is his side’s defence that has been way below-par and the weakest link. The defensive trio of Sandeep Singh, VR Raghunath and Ignace Tirkey hasn’t been able to contain the opponents. In the two matches, India have conceded seven goals and it could have been worse but for goalkeeper PR Sreejesh’s heroics against Australia.

Nobbs said he will most likely fly down directly to Malaysia from London to scout some talents at the ongoing junior Asia Cup. “Defence has been a major worry for us for many years now. We have been working very hard to solve that issue but it won’t happen overnight. So, I will be going to Malaysia and watch the juniors. If we can find a decent defender there, he will be included in the national camp,” the Australian said.

And, with India’s performance in the first two games of the test event being far from flattering, Nobbs did not rule out drastic changes in the squad for the Olympics. The current bunch of 18 players has been together for almost a year since Nobbs took charge. “But they cannot take their place for granted any more. There will be a few changes for the Olympics. As I said, I will have a look at the juniors and we also have a few tournaments coming up where we can assess the players,” he said.

However, the coach wasn’t disappointed with the side’s show in London. “When we played against lower-ranked teams, we got more goal-scoring opportunities. We fluffed a few chances, yet we ended up scoring many goals. Against the top teams, we need to be more effective. They won’t give us many chances, so we have to make the most of the ones we create. Unfortunately, we haven’t played these top teams in over a year. So, these results might be painful for us in the short term, but in the long run, they will benefit us,” he said.