Naveen Patnaik slams ‘saffron’ shift in India’s national hockey team jersey

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday criticised the reported change in the Indian hockey team’s jersey colour from blue to saffron, alleging that it was an attempt to politicise a national sporting symbol and erase the country’s sporting legacy.The new Hockey India saffron jersey. (X)In a post on X, Patnaik said he was “deeply anguished” by reports that the iconic blue jersey would be replaced with saffron. “The iconic shade of blue of the Indian hockey team is not just a colour but an emotion associated with the nation’s sporting heritage,” he said.Recalling India’s achievements in international hockey, Patnaik said the men’s and women’s teams had won Olympic medals wearing the blue jersey, with the national anthem playing on the world stage. He said the colour blue, derived from the Ashoka Chakra in the national flag, symbolises national pride and identity. “The colour blue belongs to every Indian,” he said.Referring to Odisha’s long association with Indian hockey, Patnaik said the state had stepped in as the first and only sponsor of the national men’s and women’s teams at a time when they were struggling to secure corporate backing. “Every Odia across the globe was proud of the state’s gift to national hockey. After 41 long years, our men’s team won an Olympic medal,” he said.Incidentally, the current president of Hockey India, the governing body that administers and conducts field hockey in the country, is Dilip Tirkey, a BJD leader and former Rajya Sabha MP from the party.