NEW DELHI, Feb 23: Dhanraj Pillay's chances of playing in a fourth Olympics receded on Monday after the veteran Indian striker was ruled out of next month's qualifiers for the Athens Games.

The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) did not name the 34-year-old in the 18-man squad for the Olympic qualifying tournament in Madrid, Spain from March 2-13. "Pillay was not considered for selection after he said he had not recovered fully from a knee injury sustained during the Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia in January," an IHF official said.

Defender Dilip Tirkey was retained captain of the side which included strikers Deepak Thakur and Baljit Saini, who missed the recent home series against Olympic champions the Netherlands due to injuries.

Indian squad: Dilip Tirkey (captain), Devesh Chauhan, Bharat Chetri, Kanwalpreet Singh, William Xalco, Ignace Tirkey, Vikram Pillay, Len Aiyyapa, Viren Rasquinha, Bimal Lakra, Gagan Ajit Singh, Sandeep Michael, Prabhjot Singh, Arjun Halappa, Baljit Dhillon, Baljit Saini, Tejbir Singh, Deepak Thakur.