The Indian hockey team is set to return to its traditional blue jersey for the upcoming Asian Games, just weeks after Hockey India's choice of saffron as the primary kit for the World Cup created a huge controversy.
For the Asian Games, blue will once again be India's first-choice colour. HI treasurer Shekar Manoharan told Sportstar that the Indian Olympic Association had asked Hockey India for its preferred kit, with the federation naming blue as its first preference and saffron as the secondary colour.
The Asian Games will begin on September 18 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
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The decision to move away from the team's traditional blue sparked considerable debate, with former men's team captain Viren Rasquinha questioning the change.
Hockey India had claimed that the decision to change the primary jersey colour was made for a practical reason. It claimed that the earlier blue kits had a tendency to merge visually with the blue synthetic playing surface, prompting the move to saffron ahead of the World Cup.
Hockey India also stressed that a change in jersey colour was not unprecedented, pointing to India's use of yellow at the 2014 FIH Hockey World Cup and sky blue with a different design at the 2018 edition.
The change had also triggered questions within Hockey India itself. HI president Dilip Tirkey had said the decision to change the team's primary kit was taken without the knowledge of the federation's elected leadership or its executive board.
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Hockey India had earlier said suggestions were sought for potential alternative colours, with saffron eventually chosen as the base for the World Cup kit because it features on India's national flag.
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