Great Britain are likely to have more than 300 athletes in Beijing after the men's hockey team qualified for the Olympics in August. The 18-strong squad joins the women's team, who were already assured of a place at the Games after England's bronze medal at the European Championships last year.

Almost 200 athletes have qualified for Beijing, but, with 132 qualifying places up for grabs, including in team sports, the BOA is expecting to take more than 300 at a cost of about £4million, which includes a pre-Games training camp in Macau. Britain's representation at the 2004 Olympics, in Athens, was 271.

The men's hockey team's 2-0 victory on Sunday against India in the final of the Olympic qualification tournament in Santiago, Chile, concluded a 100 per cent win record during the competition. “The result was the consequence of six months of very hard work and a professional approach to this tournament,” Pete Nicholson, the Britain manager, said.

It also capped an eventful week for Jason Lee, the Britain head coach, after he flew home during the tournament to attend the birth of his daughter. Lee, who played in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, said: “I don't think I could lose this week - you can make poor decisions when you're wrapped up in the game and the birth of the baby made me relax and see things differently. I was calmer.”

The result, however, has left Indian hockey in disarray after their men's team, the eight-times Olympic champions, failed to qualify for the first time since 1928. Joaquim Carvalho, the head coach, and Narendra Batra, the vice-president of the Indian Hockey Confederation (IHC), resigned amid calls for an overhaul of the way the game is run. Hockey is still officially India's national sport, despite the over- whelming popularity of cricket.

Carvalho, who took over the hockey team 11 months ago, said: “I had said I would resign if I cannot deliver results. I am keeping my word. I am as disappointed and hurt as any other Indian hockey fan.”

There was disbelief around the country, where the defeat dominated television channels. “It is a very, very big disaster in Indian hockey. It felt like there was a death in the family,” Ashok Kumar, a member of India's 1975 World Cup-winning side, said. “This decline did not happen in one day, the hockey federation just did not seem interested in noticing and arresting the decline.”

The IHC has denied culpability for a decline in standards over the past decade. But Batra said that he hoped his resignation would put pressure on the administration, led by Kanwar Pal Singh Gill, the president, to follow his lead. “I am ashamed because all of us have failed,” he said. “This is the lowest point in Indian hockey and we must take the blame.”

India finished seventh in the past two Olympics and were forced to qualify for Beijing after failing to win an Asian Games medal for the first time in Doha, Qatar, in December 2006.

Viren Rasquinha, the former captain, who retired this year to pursue management studies, said that India's exit was “one hell of a blow”. “No one could think of an Olympics without India,” he said. “But hockey won't die in the country because there is a lot of talent. We just need to get the right coaches.”

Gill appeared yesterday to be resisting demands for his resignation. “It is not proper to respond at this stage,” he said. “We'll wait for the team to return first, then we will have a clear idea what went wrong.”

Ric Charlesworth, the Australian, who was hired by India last year to identify young talent, is tipped to take over from Carvalho as coach.

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