New Delhi, July 31:
The Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams will be seen in saffron jerseys instead of their traditional blue kits at next month’s FIH World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium, a change that was questioned by former players but defended as a technical necessity by Hockey India.
Unveiling the new jersey on its social media pages, Hockey India said the design and colour of the jersey is meant to “tell a story” and carry “India’s pride” and was finalised after consultations with players and support staff.
HI also said that saffron symbolises courage, sacrifice and victory and no external pressure guided its decision.
“It was observed that the blue playing uniform tended to blend/merge with the blue synthetic playing surface, which is now the standard colour of international hockey pitches.”
“This visual similarity affected on-field clarity and visibility for the players,” Hockey India said in a statement after former captains like Viren Rasquinha questioned the logic behind the move.
“…the coaches and players suggested alternative colours such as yellow or saffron. After careful consideration, saffron was finalised.
“Apart from addressing the technical requirement, saffron also holds deep significance as one of the colours of our National Flag, symbolising courage, sacrifice and national pride,” it added.
The World Cup will run from August 15 to 30.
Rasquinha was the first to criticise the decision and said the unveiled uniform looks “embarrassing”.
“I must say that @TheHockeyIndia has done many good things for… But this is embarrassing. The legacy & identity of the Indian team has always been BLUE. I wore the Blue jersey with pride for many years. Fans want to see our Indian team in blue. What is the logic of orange?,” Rasquinha, who is also the CEO of sports foundation Olympic Gold Quest, wrote on ‘X’.
My simple & humble point is on pride, identity & legacy.” Former India captain and coach V Baskaran too condemned the jersey colour change, saying the move will rob Indian hockey teams of their identity.
“All teams have their identity in their jerseys, ours was blue but Indian hockey has lost its identity with this decision. Did Hockey India consult its executive board before taking this decision?,” Baskaran said.
Baskaran rubbished HI’s explanation that the colour change was a technical decision made on the recommendations of players and support staff.