There will be several firsts in Olympic hockey this year, but two of the changes in format and playing conditions have proved to be beneficial for India in recent global competitions, and head coach Roelant Oltmans will be eager for the same to take place in Rio.Firstly, the old format of two halves of 35 minutes each was dispensed with after the London Games in 2012, and the new four quarters of 15 minutes has enabled India to increase their intensity and also utilise some of their best attacking options in short, quick bursts.The Rio Games will also be the first to employ the quarterfinals format, and this increases the chances for a team to suffer the odd setback in the pool stages and still make it to the top four and be in contention for a medal. With this format being employed in global competitions in the last four years, India have notched up their first two medals in continental competition in 35 years - a bronze after beating Netherlands via shoot-out in the World League Final last year, and then the Champions Trophy silver after losing out on the shoot-out to Australia in June 2016.Pool A in Rio will comprise Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Spain, Great Britain and Belgium, where the likely candidates to miss out on the last eight would be the hosts and either one of Spain and New Zealand. Indias pool has an interesting mix, though India have had the experience of beating Netherlands and Germany in the last two years.Argentina have always proved to be tricky for the Indians, but Ireland and Canada should on paper be matches where India can maximise their points. The key thing for the Indians will be consistency. There is enough class in the forwardline led by the energetic SV Sunil, while in Manpreet Singh and Sardar Singh, they have two of the best midfielders in the world.PR Sreejesh is rock solid in goal, but if he can weld his athleticism with some consistency, this Indian team has the ability to hold their own against the best. This is how Indias pool opponents stack up, and the numbers that matter against these rivals.Ireland - play India on Saturday, Aug 6 at 11 am local (7:30 pm IST)FIH Ranking: 12Best finish at the Olympics: Silver (in 1908)As a nation, Ireland have a remarkably good record of producing champions at the Olympics. Their nine golds, eight silvers and 12 bronze medals is a record that is better than even India. However, the precise reason why Irelands qualification to the mens hockey event in Rio following a fifth-place finish at the World League Semi-finals in Antwerp in 2015 is momentous is because they have become the first Irish team to qualify for any sport in the Olympics since 1908.Back then, the Irish hockey team picked up the silver, losing 8-1 to England in the final. They were competing under the flag of the British Olympic Association, though. This is an Irish team on the upward curve, as they proved at the European Championships in London last year.First, they qualified for the semi-finals ahead of Belgium, albeit only on goal difference, and then gained their first ever continental medal with a clinical 4-2 win over England in the bronze-medal match, following a narrow 1-0 defeat to eventual champions Netherlands. The experienced Eugene Magee, John Jackson and Ronan Gormley will hope to shore up the Irish defence, and with one of the worlds best goalkeepers in David Harte backing them up, they will always be difficult to break down.India against Ireland: Played - 6, Won - 4, Drawn - 1, Lost - 1, Goals Scored - 19, Goals Conceded - 12Germany - play India on Monday, Aug 8 at 11 am local (7:30 pm IST) FIH Ranking: 3Best finish at the Olympics: Gold (in 1972, 1992, 2008 and 2012)Germany are seeking to make history by joining India as the only team to have picked up a hat-trick of Olympic gold medals, and they have shown a tendency to break the mould in world hockey.At home, in Munich 44 years ago, they were the first team to break the India-Pakistan duopoly on the top position, which had then lasted for a period of 44 years as well.The German performances at global events have been on the wane since winning the Champions Trophy in India in December 2014. Their most recent Champions Trophy performance in England was underwhelming, though they did seem to be coming into their own as the tournament progressed. They were also beaten 6-1 in last years European Championship final by Netherlands.However, with the class of experienced players like Moritz Furste and Tobias Hauke supporting the attacking flair of Florian Fuchs and Christopher Ruhr, the Germans would definitely be expected to make the knockout stages. And from there, they have the experience of winning big games, with as many as five of their squad having experienced winning gold in London four years ago.India against Germany: Played - 93, Won - 18, Drawn - 25, Lost - 50, Goals Scored - 142, Goals Conceded - 206Argentina - play India on Tuesday, Aug 9 at 11 am local (7:30 pm IST) FIH Ranking: 7Best finish at the Olympics: 5th (in 1948)Argentina bring their traditional flair and individual skills to the hockey pitch, and should enjoy the best of the conditions in South America. They are coached by the mercurial Carlos Retegui, and he achieved a unique double in 2014 when he guided the mens and womens team to the bronze at the World Cup played in Netherlands. At one stage, he would skip from one pitch to another between games being played by the two Argentina sides.The team headed to Rio has a lot of its key players playing together for a long time, with a lot of players from the squad that succeeded India as the Junior World Cup winners in 2005. Argentina score a lot of their goals from open play, with the flair of Agustin Mazilli, Matias Paredes and Lucas Vila, but opposition defences need to watch out for their penalty-corner expert Gonzalo Peillat, one of the best exponents of the drag-flick in contemporary hockey.India against Argentina: Played - 47, Won - 25, Drawn - 14, Lost - 8, Goals Scored - 116, Goals Conceded -89Netherlands - play India on Thursday, Aug 11 at 10 am local (6:30 pm IST) FIH Ranking: 2Best finish at the Olympics: Gold (in 1996 and 2000)Netherlands were the only top nation that chose to give the Champions Trophy in England a skip, but that will not stop the team - coached by former Argentina international Max Caldas - from giving a run for their money to all the favourites in the mens division.Netherlands have picked up a World Hockey League gold, a World Cup silver and a European Championship title since their silver-medal finish in London four years ago, and the core of the team has stayed the same. Robert van der Horst is one of the most versatile defensive players in the world, while Jeroen Hertzberger, Rogier Hofman and Valentin Verga have the ability to open up the best defences in the world.The Dutch also have Jaap Stockmanns experience to fall back on in goal, and defender Mink van der Weerdens record of having scored 64 goals in 97 international appearances is indicative of his drag-flicking ability from penalty-corners.India against Netherlands: Played - 100, Won - 31, Drawn - 23, Lost - 46, Goals Scored - 206, Goals Conceded - 227Canada - play India on Friday, Aug 12 at 12:30 pm local (9 pm IST) FIH Ranking: 15Best finish at the Olympics: 10th (in 1976, 2000 and 2008)Canada are back at the Olympics after having missed out in London four years ago, and they sealed qualification with a fourth-place finish at the World League Semi-finals hosted by their eternal Pan-American rivals Argentina in 2015.Coached by Australian Anthony Farry, the Canadians will rely on the experience of midfielder Mark Pearson and defender Scott Tupper, both of whom have over 200 international caps.The bulk of the attacking work will be done by Matthew Guest and Mumbai-born Keegan Pereira, who made his international debut in 2009 against the country of his birth and also played his first World Cup there the following year.India against Canada: Played - 35, Won - 25, Drawn - 3, Lost - 7, Goals Scored - 97, Goals Conceded - 59 Joe Thomas Jersey .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. 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