Indian mens hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans said the new competition format of having quarterfinals in place of direct semifinals in the upcoming Rio Olympics is not only beneficial for the Indian team but all small teams.If you have teams like Argentina, Germany and Holland in your group, it becomes difficult to end up being the top two teams in your group. It is not impossible to qualify, but now if you finish in top four, you have a chance to play in the quarterfinals, Oltmans told PTI.This format will give India and every other team, including Canada, a feeling that they have a greater chance of making it to the quarterfinals, he said.Unlike previous editions, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has introduced a new competition format for this years Olympics.As per the new format, 12 teams have been divided into two pools of six, with each team initially playing round-robin games within their pool. Following the completion of the round-robin games, the top four teams from each pool will advance to the quarterfinals.Previously, after completion of round robin games, the top two teams from each pool used to directly qualify for the semifinals.The 16-member Indian team has a mixture of youth and experience. It consists of seven players who played in the 2012 London Olympics while nine new faces will be playing in their first Olympics.Asked whether the players who were part of the London Olympics squad were sharing their experience with the new faces, the coach said: They have experience but the problem is their experience is not positive. They had played 2012 Olympics and unfortunately that was not the best Olympics for India. So, they bring quite negative thoughts.To overcome the problem, Oltmans shares his successful Olympics experiences with the youngsters.I have a very good and positive experience of playing in the Olympics and therefore I share my experience, discuss about it and talk about it to prepare the youngsters as good as possible, he said.India will miss the services of experienced defender Birendra Lakra in Rio after he failed to recover in time from a knee injury.I really wanted him (Lakra) to play, but if it is not possible, it is not possible. He is Indias one of the best defenders, Oltmans said.However, it wouldnt be good for any team to heavily depend on one player. In couple of tournaments like the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia and the Champions Trophy, we had to play without him as well and the replacements did well, he said.The mens hockey team will be departing for Rio de Janeiro via Spain on Saturday. Renato Nunez Jersey . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. Wholesale Orioles Jerseys . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. https://www.cheaporioles.com/2018i-dj-stewart-jersey-orioles.html . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Dwight Smith Jr. Jersey . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Paul Fry Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. SALT LAKE CITY -- Adam Rippon and Jason Brown, the last two U.S. mens champions, will headline the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic scheduled for Sept. 14-18 in Salt Lake City.Three-time U.S. ice dance bronze medalists Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue also will compete in the first event of the 2016-17 season, as will 2015 U.S. womens bronze medalist Karen Chen and 2013 U.S. mens silver medalist Ross Miner.The event will be the first of 10 competitions that will makke up the ISU Challenger Series, which is open to skaters and teams of international senior-level athletes who have been entered by their member federations.dddddddddddd. Skaters may participate in up to three Challenger Series events.Participation does not preclude athletes from competing in the ISU Grand Prix or other ISU-sanctioned senior events. ' ' '