ON Friday evening, the Indian women's took to the field wearing saffron against the Netherlands. It was strange to see them wearing the colours of the hosts. The viewing experience was amusing because a vast majority of the crowd at the Wagener Stadium had come dressed in Orange, the colour found in all Dutch sporting uniforms.
So, it was natural to assume that the same colour pattern would be repeated on Saturday afternoon, when it was the turn of the respective men's team to face each other at the ongoing World Cup. However, the Indian men's team wore their second colour, all white while the hosts stuck to the primary colour.
An explanation from the International Hockey Federation (FIH), in a statement made available to this daily, said multiple factors are considered before the 'Technical Delegate' decides the uniforms of both teams. "The uniforms to be worn by teams are allocated by the FIH Technical Officials based on considerations of good visibility and contrast as well as, where possible, allowing teams enough time for washing, and sometimes also individual preferences," the statement read. Further, Regulation 6.1 of the tournament handbook was also cited. ""The Technical Delegate, at her/his absolute discretion, shall specify to the Team Managers the clothing to be worn by their field players and goalkeepers for each match."
The clause with respect to washing is interesting and very curious. Because, if anything, the Indian women's side, had one less day to wash. They played their last Pool D match a day later when compared to the Dutch women's team (August 20 and August 19). In contrast, the Indian men's had played their final Pool D match against Pakistan on August 19, a day earlier than the Netherlands.
If this instance came down to individual preferences, does it mean that Hockey India requested their women's team play in saffron against the hosts while making no such requests when the men's team took the field a day later? Hockey India has been approached for comment.
