Former captains of national hockey sides have vehemently condemned the choice saying blue is where the heart of Indian sportspersons is. In the latest twist, the top two officials at Hockey India do not seem to be painting from the same palette. President and former player Dilip Tirkey said the decision to turn saffron was taken without his knowledge while secretary Bhola Nath Singh insists all officials were aware of the change
A saffron switch to the national game’s jersey has left a lot of former players and supporters feeling blue. Hockey India, the game’s governing body in the country, chose the colour popularly associated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, triggering communal cries across the nation.
Former captains of national hockey sides have vehemently condemned the choice saying blue is where the heart of Indian sportspersons is. In the latest twist, the top two officials at Hockey India do not seem to be painting from the same palette. President and former player Dilip Tirkey said the decision to turn saffron was taken without his knowledge while secretary Bhola Nath Singh insists all officials were aware of the change.
Hockey India also tried to justify the move by saying the synthetic turf, on which hockey games are played, is blue and the old uniform was prone to blend with the surface, affecting on-field clarity and visibility for players. The national body also said that saffron symbolises courage, sacrifice and victory and no external pressure guided its decision. In that case, why not any other colour such as red or bright yellow?
Though saffron is the top band of our flag, it is the blue from the Ashoka Chakra in the middle that has been widely used on national jerseys, across sports. The cricket players of Team India are better known as Men in Blue, because of the kit’s dominant colour even as ‘India’ and the players’ names and numbers are printed in saffron on the chest and back. A good deal of saffron does form part of the jersey and trousers too.
There has been an instance of India’s cricket kit being changed to orange and navy blue, which got a thumbs down from furious fans, who likened it to the uniform worn by fuel-dispensing personnel at petrol filling stations. Sensing a severe drop in mileage, the Board of Control for Cricket in India quickly shelved the kit before the issue caught fire. However, to communalise colour is just not sport. Sportspersons sweat to earn ‘India colours’ as they call national jerseys. It doesn’t matter to them whether they are saffron, blue, white or green.
