BENGALURU: As soon as Hockey India changed colours from blue to saffron, former players and officials led the criticism. On Thursday it tool a political turn with leaders voicing their concern in Parliament and on X.
Former India captain who led India to gold at Moscow Olympics V Baskaran said that it was laughable as blue is associated with not just the country but also the players' emotions. Another former captain Viren Rasquinha too spoke about the emotions players share with the colour blue.
"I will go even further. When you see blue, you immediately associate that colour with Indian hockey. You know which was the first Indian sports team to wear blue? The hockey team. We have always worn some shade of blue or white," said Baskaran. "Our legendary Olympic teams and players brought laurels to the country with that colour. All the other teams, including the cricket team, adopted the blue at a time when we had already worn it for decades. I do not know why they (Hockey India) have done it. And even if they wanted to do it, I do not agree with the timing — so close to the World Cup — one bit."
That seems to be the most jarring bit about the entire exercise. The timing of it with the World Cup's first match scheduled on August 15.
Just for the record, both the country's hockey and cricket teams have had saffron-coloured training jerseys for years now. But this change is monumental because a training jersey is one thing. This is a totally different thing. It's why the issue took a political hue when Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressed it in Parliament. “Whether they change uniforms or try to rewrite history through education policy, no matter what they do… You have seen what the youth of our country think about this,” she said.
BJD leader and former Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik, who is considered one of the staunchest supporters of the game said on X, ":I am deeply anguished to know that the legendary colour of the Indian hockey team’s jersey has been changed to saffron. 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. For decades, this colour united us in hope, in victory, in defeat and in the pursuit of sporting excellence... #Blue is derived from the blue chakra in our national flag. It is a symbol of our national pride and identity. The colour blue belongs to every Indian."
The federation, via another press release on Thursday, said the change was 'based on support staff and players' recommendations and detailed consultations with them'. "The primary consideration was technical. 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." HI president also echoed the same statement but offered some consolation saying the jersey colour is not the final one. India cricket team plays in blue.
However, it's this newspaper's understanding that the support staff weren't consulted and had zero input on the matter. The players were also kept in the dark. Curiously, when HI officials had landed up in Bengaluru for the jersey unveiling, some senior federation officials were conspicuous by their absence.
Baskaran, who has had multiple coaching stints with the national teams, doesn't really buy these explanations. "Are you telling me Harmanpreet Singh scored all those goals from penalty corners while being affected by clarity? Are you telling me India won two Olympic medals in 2021 and 2024 while suffering from these issues? A fair few teams also play in blue. Argentina and England also have blue jerseys. Do you think they will come out with a saffron one in the Netherlands and Belgium?"
If one of the Indian teams were to face the Netherlands at the World Cup, it's likely that they will play with their second jersey: white. Baskaran said that if it was about the colour on the national flag, they could have worn white, another 'colour we have worn for a very long time'. HI, in their press release, added that "saffron also holds deep significance as one of the colours of our National Flag, symbolising courage, sacrifice and national pride."
