When the men's and women's team jerseys in India changed from the traditional blue to a beautiful saffron color in the summer it was a big deal for the nation to see. People of India and former players were extremely unhappy and strongly against it because the history and identity of Indian hockey in these decades has been entwined with the blue color.
Hockey India has since issued an official statement, saying that the change was not made arbitrarily but had to be made by the players themselves and their dedicated support staff. The top governing body of the sport in the country said that the key factor was purely technical rather than political. And the blue playing uniform as it turned out was too small and didn't really fit with the modern blue synthetic playing surfaces as the international hockey pitches are now all blue.
The unfortunate visual similarity worsened on-field clarity, reaction time, and overall visibility for the players during high-intensity matches, according to the statement. Because split-second decisions are so important at the top international levels, the players must be able to make the most of the difference between the field and the turf.
Hockey India defended the choice of saffron as the new primary color of the kit and admitted that the coaching staff and athletes had first suggested different high-contrast options, namely yellow and saffron, through in-depth discussions that made for good decisions and took a series of long conversations, and saffron was finally chosen. These ideas were discussed and the team and the coaches agreed that saffron was selected for the purpose of the national kit for all the different reasons that are needed and after careful consideration and had to be used. And so we are not very new to the Indian hockey history of changing the national kit so that the national kit is in no way unique or new to India.
Besides the technical requirements of the new saffron color, Hockey India said this color has great national significance. As one of the most prominent colors in the Indian National Flag and is one of the most important colors in Indian sports, the Indians wear it as an emblem of courage and sacrifice to the country. And the team will carry on in the blue turfs when the players go out into the field in the new bright kit at the huge FIH World Cup events, and the Indian hockey players will carry on the rich history with the same spirit of the national colors in the same way and will not have to struggle in the blue turfs.
