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India will be seen in action at the Olympics for the first time in 36 years, though it is officially the first time they have qualified.In 1980, when womens hockey was played for the first time in Moscow, India had drawn against eventual champions Zimbabwe, and lost to second-placed erstwhile Czechoslovakia and the hosts, who won bronze in the round-robin tournament. They won their other two matches against Austria and Poland and in fact led the standings at one stage. Eventually, they missed a podium finish by just one point.The format this year will not make things any easier for the Indian women. At 13, they are the lowest-ranked in Pool B. Only 1992 champions Spain, who will be one of the six teams in Pool A, are ranked one place lower in the FIH rankings. Spain will be joined by reigning champions Netherlands, 2004 gold-medallists Germany, fourth-ranked New Zealand and Asian nations China and Korea, the two of whom have three silver medals among them.Indias pool is a competitive one too, with only Japan joining India as nations to have never won an Olympic medal before. The big favourites in their pool should be Champions Trophy winners Argentina and Australia, who share the record of three Olympic golds with Netherlands.Only four of the six teams per pool will advance to the quarterfinals, which should make a minimum of two wins necessary out of the five matches. It may not be impossible, with prolific strikers like Rani Rampal, Vandana Katariya and Poonam Rani in their ranks. However, it is defensive frailty that has been the undoing of the Indian women against higher-ranked opposition in recent years, and that is where matches against big teams could be won and lost.Heres a closer look at all their opponents in the pool stage.Japan - play India on Sunday, Aug 7 at 11 am local (7:30 pm IST)FIH Ranking: 10Best finish at the Olympics: 8th (in 2004)Japan qualified for Rio by virtue of a sixth place finish at the World League Semi-final in Antwerp in 2015, pipped to fifth by India. Japan are known for their counter-attacking form of hockey, though finding goals has been a problem, especially in big matches. The Olympics comes home for the Japanese in four years, and that gives them greater incentive to make a statement in Rio.Only four members of the Japan squad have 100 caps or more -- though goalkeeper Sakiyo Asano and defender Nagisa Hayashi should join that list within the first week ?-- and the experienced players will have to pull their weight if Japan are to finish among the top four. Midfielder Miyuki Nakagawa has 287 caps against her name and 30 international goals, the most for this squad on both counts, and has been a part of all three of Japans previous appearances.India against Japan: Played - 59, Won - 12, Drawn - 15, Lost - 32, Goals Scored - 68, Goals Conceded - 114.Great Britain - play India on Monday, Aug 8 at 6 pm local (2:30 am IST on Tuesday morning) FIH Ranking: 7Best finish at the Olympics: Bronze (in 1992 and 2012)Great Britain have had a good twelve months leading up to the Olympics, first winning the World League Semi-finals, beating China in the final, and then picking up the European title at home in a shoot-out against the Netherlands. They were beaten by Argentina in the Olympics semi-finals, also in London, in 2012 but then beat New Zealand to pick up bronze.The British charge this time will be led by forwards Alex Danson and Lily Owsley, while the defence is likely to be in the safe hands of their most-capped player Kate Richardson-Walsh, for whom her first match in Rio will be her 362nd.India against Great Britain: Played - 25, Won - 2, Drawn - 6, Lost - 17, Goals Scored - 20, Goals Conceded - 77.Australia - play India on Wednesday, Aug 10 at 11 am local (7:30 pm IST)FIH Ranking: 3Best finish at the Olympics: Gold (in 1988, 1996 and 2000)That Australia are ranked in the top three in the world despite not having won any major silverware at a global event since the Champions Trophy in 2003 is a testament to their ability to consistently make the knockout stages of competitions. The reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallists will also be looking to give a good farewell gift to head coach Adam Commens, who steps down later this year after five years in charge.Midfielder Madonna Blyth now holds the all-time record for most caps with 336 matches under her belt, while defender and penalty-corner specialist Jodie Kenny needs just two more goals to complete 100 international goals for Australia.India against Australia: Played - 37, Won - 4, Drawn - 6, Lost - 27, Goals Scored - 43, Goals Conceded - 116.United States of America - play India on Thursday, Aug 11 at 7:30 pm local (4 am IST on Friday morning)FIH Ranking: 5Best finish at the Olympics: Bronze (in 1984)Coached by former England and Great Britain defender Craig Parnham, USA have been improving with each major outing in the last two years, following their 2014 Champions Challenge title in Glasgow with fourth place at the World Cup later that year, and a bronze medal in the Champions Trophy in London in June, where goalkeeper Jackie Briggs effected five saves against Australia in the shoot-out.The other hero in the match against Australia was Katie Bam, who scored two goals to bring them back from 2-0 down. Bam is one of five players in the 16 who have over 200 caps, including the experienced defensive trio of Rachel Dawson, Lauren Crandall and Michelle Kasold, and this experience will come in handy as the Americans seek their first hockey silverware since 1984.India against USA: Played - 26, Won - 4, Drawn - 8, Lost - 14, Goals Scored - 27, Goals Conceded - 47.Argentina - play India on Saturday, Aug 13 at 10 am local (6:30 pm IST) FIH Ranking: 2Best finish at the Olympics: Silver (in 2000 and 2012)Argentina come in the Olympics as the in-form team in womens hockey across the last two years. They have picked up the gold in each of the last three major events to have taken place in global hockey - the Champions Trophy of 2014 and 2016, as well as the World League in 2015.Legendary midfielder Luciana Aymar may have called it a day after the first of those triumphs on home soil, but she left behind an experienced squad where seven out of the 16 names for Rio have 100 or more international caps. Without doubt, the two most important players will be drag-flicking defender Noel Barrionuevo as well as forward Carla Rebecchi, who was both the top goal scorer and the best player at the Champions Trophy in London in June.India against Argentina: Played - 16, Won - 1, Drawn - 3, Lost - 12, Goals Scored - 17, Goals Conceded - 39. Nike Shoes Wholesale China . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. 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SYDNEY -- Heavy rainfall in Sydney over 12 hours into early Thursday morning forced changes to the practice schedules for California and Hawaii just two days away from their college football season opener at the Olympic stadium.Both teams were scheduled to hold open practice sessions at the stadium in western Sydney on Thursday, but two to four inches of rain late Wednesday and overnight forced organizers to keep the players off the turf.Hawaii was given a chance to practice at the University of New South Wales, but because it was about an hour away toward the city and into busy traffic, the Rainbow Warriors decided to cancel their practice session. They did a walk-through later in the day in preparation for Saturdays game.We would have spent more time in traffic than at the practice, Hawaii team spokesman Derek Inouchi said.California held a light workout at the same grounds on Thursday ahead of Fridays final training session for the game, which organizers say is expected to attract a crowd of about 65,000.We worked through it, Cal coach Sonny Dykes said after Wednesdays rainy training session on the synthetic turf at the University of New South Wales field.We had a bit of rain and bit of cold -- not the best weather conditions. Dykes added as the rain pelted down on a tin roof above him. Anytime you travel 24 hours, there are going to be some obstacles, but overall, weve done a good job of adjusting.The weather forecast for Saturday calls for a 50 percent chance of some light rain and a high temperature of 66 degrees.The game is set to start at midday Saturday in Sydney -- or Friday at 10 p.m. ET in the mainland United States and 4 in the afternoon for the Hawaii home fans in the mid-Pacific.The collegiate matchup was brought to Sydney in an attempt to increase support for football in Australia, a country that keenly follows the NFL and has provided several players -- mostly punters and kickers from Australian rules football -- to NFL teams.Its only the third college game played in Australia; the previous two weere held in Melbourne in the 1980s.dddddddddddd The last U.S. football game played in Sydney was in 1999, when the?Denver Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers?20-17 in a preseason game at the Olympic?stadium in front of more than 73,000 spectators.Saturdays crowd, which will feast on foot-long hot dogs and other menu favorites from the U.S., will see experienced quarterbacks start the game.Davis Webb, who Dykes has already named in the starting role, is one of the key Cal additions this year, replacing?Jared Goff, the No. 1 overall NFL draft pick by the Los Angeles Rams.A graduate transfer from Texas Tech, Webb played in 23 games with 14 starts over three seasons and career totals of 5,557 yards and 46 touchdowns. Hes enrolled in Cals public health masters program.Ikaika Woolsey beat out three other Hawaii quarterbacks to get the nod for the starting role in Sydney from new coach Nick Rolovich. Playing in his senior year, Woolsey has had 19 starts for the Rainbow Warriors.The Rodeo, California-born Woolsey will lead Hawaiis contingent on Saturday in a familiar pregame ritual that many Australian rugby fans will recognize.New Zealands famed All Blacks rugby team do a Maori-inspired haka, or war dance, on the same field whenever they play Australias Wallabies in rugby union matches. But that only usually involves the starting 15 players.On Saturday, the entire Hawaii squad numbering nearly 100 players will take to the field about 20 minutes before kickoff to do the haka that is compulsory for all team members to learn.Its the seventh consecutive year that Hawaii, a member of the Mountain West Conference, will open against a Pac-12 opponent. The Rainbow Warriors?are 2-4 over that span.California has a better record, going 7-2 in season openers since 2007, including a 73-14 home win at Berkeley last year over Grambling State. Overall, the Golden Bears are 75-42-4 all time in season openers. ' ' '