Captain Harmanpreet Singh bcaks India's new saffron Hockey kit

Hockey India’s decision to change the colour of India’s official jersey for next month’s FIH World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium is garnering mixed reactions.

The men’s and women’s teams will don saffron jerseys instead of their traditional blue kits. Unveiling the new jersey on its social media pages, Hockey India said the design and colour of the jersey is meant to “tell a story” and carry “India's pride”.

While HI said saffron symbolises courage, sacrifice and victory, former hockey captain Viren Rasquinha openly questioned the change and termed it ‘embarrassing’ in a social media post.

“I must say that @TheHockeyIndia has done many good things for Indian hockey. But this is embarrassing. The legacy & identity of the Indian team has always been BLUE. I wore the Blue jersey with pride for many years. Fans want to see our Indian team in blue. What is the logic of orange?” he wrote.

Meanwhile, skipper Harmanpreet Singh defended the move, saying the decision was taken in the wake of technical reasons.

“It's not the first time, actually. Before this, in 2013–14, we had a yellow jersey. After that, we switched to light blue and then dark blue,” Singh told The Bridge on Thursday.

“This time, we've chosen saffron. There are a few technical reasons as well. For example, when you're on the field, the pitch is blue, and we're wearing everything in blue, so that creates some difficulties. It's not that we won medals because we wore blue, and we're not making any excuses for that,” he added.

“But we're happy there's been a change, and the team is very excited about the new colour. Today was our practice match, and we wore our official kit, the same one we'll use at the World Cup. I think the entire team is feeling very positive, and we're all excited about it,” he said.

Jersey celebrates India's cultural heritage: HI

Hockey India defended its move, saying the jersey was inspired by the 'Indian national flag and the rising sun' and that it reflects new beginnings.

The jersey has ‘Mandala’ inspired patterns which celebrate India's cultural heritage. Hockey India said that the deep navy blue accents are inspired by the Ashoka Chakra, which symbolises progress, peace and focus.

HI said the chest graphic is a modern interpretation of the Sudarshan Chakra, symbolising "strength, unity, and momentum."

Unveiling the new jersey on its social media pages, Hockey India said the design and colour of the jersey are meant to "tell a story" and carry "India's pride".

HI said saffron symbolises courage, sacrifice and victory.

"Inspired by the Indian national flag and the rising sun, it reflects new beginnings," the body stated.

'INDIA' is written on the front of the jersey in stylised 'Devanagari' script to "celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity."

"New jersey design embodies the spirit of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' — One India, Supreme India," HI said.

Besides saffron, the Indian teams will also have white jerseys in their kits featuring the same new design.