Now Reading: Indian hockey teams wear saffron despite Tirkey’s blue jersey promise
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Indian hockey teams wear saffron despite Tirkey’s blue jersey promise
The Indian men's and women's hockey teams wore saffron jerseys in their opening Asian Games 2026 matches on Sunday, contradicting Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey's pre-tournament assurance that the teams would revert…
The Indian men's and women's hockey teams wore saffron jerseys in their opening Asian Games 2026 matches on Sunday, contradicting Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey's pre-tournament assurance that the teams would revert to blue. Both teams wore saffron during last month's World Cup, triggering internal controversy. Tirkey later claimed the change was made without his knowledge.
Tirkey had said at the Asian Games send-off that blue was the first-choice kit, with orange second. But an unnamed Hockey India source told PTI that saffron and a white-sky blue combination were always the approved kits for 2026, and that Tirkey himself had approved them. The source questioned why Tirkey then said the team would wear all-blue. India has mostly worn blue since 1928.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Tirkey told the World Cup jersey change had player backing, but later claimed he was not informed. Now, although he promised a return to blue for the Asian Games, both teams wore saffron. An unnamed HI source says the saffron and white-blue kits were Tirkey's own approval. The officials' statements contradict each other, but the on-field outcome is the same: the traditional blue is absent. The HI source's challenge to ask Tirkey why he said blue leaves the federation president's account unresolved. The federation's internal dispute, which led to the DG being stripped of powers, shows no signs of abating.
Coverage: 8 sources, 4 government-critical, 3 neutral, 1 sensationalist
Sources (8): thehansindia.com (neutral report), thehansindia.com (2) (neutral report), economictimes.indiatimes.com (government critical), timesnownews.com (government critical), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (government critical), thehindu.com (government critical), hindustantimes.com (sensationalist), theprint.in (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 8 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
