New Delhi: For exactly a century, Indian hockey has been synonymous with blue. From Dhyan Chand at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics to the modern-day resurgence that finally brought India back to the Olympic podium, the India blue jersey has been a symbol of the team.
Event Context
But ahead of the World Cup, to be played in the Netherlands and Belgium from August 15-30, a sudden pivot to a saffron kit has ignited a massive furore, splitting the hockey fraternity and sparking a fierce debate that also reached the gates of Parliament.
At the centre of the controversy is a clash between “technical” sporting arguments, proposed by Hockey India (HI), and the heavyweight of legacy, layered with accusations of political interference.
“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.”
HI added that jersey changes aren’t unprecedented, citing temporary switches to yellow at the 2014 World Cup and sky blue at the 2018 World Cup. However, a significant thing to note is that the home colours of India have always been blue while the away colours have changed from saffron to white (which is regularly used nowadays). However, for the World Cup next month, the primary colour has changed to saffron.
Stalwarts of the game flatly rejected arguments presented by HI.
“I saw the new jersey. Since the very beginning, India has been played in blue; before me, during my time and after me,” 1975 World Cup-winning captain Ajit Pal Singh told HT. “Blue has been the pride of India. I do not understand the reasoning behind this change. What was the need? This is a vague decision. I certainly don’t approve of it. It is something stupid. If you have to take a colour from the Indian Tricolour, why not green? That is also part of our flag.”
Vasudevan Baskaran, who captained India to its last Olympic gold at Moscow 1980, directly challenged HI’s visibility argument. “The last two Olympics, the turf was blue, so was the Indian jersey. How was it that Harmanpreet (Singh), (Amit) Rohidas and (PR) Sreejesh did so well then? How is it that they find a technical fault in the colour of the jersey now?” Baskaran told HT.
Player Focus
“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,” HI said in a statement, adding that coaches and players suggested alternative colours.
Hindustan Times verified with three players of the Indian teams whether they were consulted about the change, as HI said in its statement, to which all three said no. “I do not know whether coach sir or captain were consulted or not but we definitely weren’t,” said a player on condition of anonymity.
Team Analysis
HI insists the shift is purely pragmatic, saying the primary consideration was technical visibility against modern pitches.
Former India skipper Viren Rasquinha focused on the erasure of identity. “This is embarrassing. The legacy and 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,” Rasquinha said on X.
Despite Rasquinha’s plea to avoid politics, the controversy has inevitably spilled into the political arena, largely due to the new jersey’s saffron hue, a colour associated with the ruling BJP.
Former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, whose government famously stepped in to sponsor the national teams in 2018 when they were struggling for funds, launched a scathing attack.
“The iconic shade of blue of the Indian hockey team is not just a colour. It is an emotion associated with the nation’s sporting heritage,” Patnaik said on X, pointing out that the blue is derived from the Ashoka Chakra.
“Our blue jersey is to us what the iconic stripes are to Argentina and the yellow jersey is to Brazil. It is etched in our collective memory. Any change in this colour, is a crass attempt to erase our priceless sporting legacy. National symbols are meant to unite us not divide.”
Congress leader and MP Priyanka Gandhi also entered the debate, weaving the jersey row into a broader narrative of national resistance against BJP’s policies.
“Whether they change the uniform or try to rewrite history through the education policy, no matter what they do, the youth of this country have made their views clear. You saw what the young people gathered at Jantar Mantar were saying. That is the voice of the nation,” Gandhi told reporters outside the Parliament.
Match Outlook
Baskaran questioned the transparency of the process, asking if only foreign coaches were consulted. Pointing to other sports, he added, “Indian athletes like Neeraj Chopra are wearing blue performing on the track that is blue at the Commonwealth Games. I do not see a problem there. Is it a case of colour blindness?”
