Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], July 30 : Hockey India President Dilip Kumar Tirkey said the decision to change the Indian hockey team's jersey colour from blue to orange was not influenced by any external pressure or political reasons and urged fans to support the Indian hockey teams ahead of the World Cup and avoid unnecessary controversy over the new jersey.
The new jerseys were launched ahead of the FIH Men's and Women's Hockey World Cups, which are scheduled to begin on August 14 and 15, respectively, in the Netherlands and Belgium.
The change in jersey colour has sparked controversy, with former India captain and Olympian Viren Rasquinha questioning the decision and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also criticising the move.
However, Tirkey said orange was selected from two options, yellow and orange, as it is also part of the national flag's colours. He urged fans to support the team ahead of the World Cup and clarified that the new jersey is not permanent, with changes possible in the future based on players' and staff members' feedback.
"Look, there is a lot of discussion going on right now about the Team India jersey colour, people are talking from a political angle, there's a lot of controversial talk. It's nothing like that. As I told you before, Team India's jersey colour has changed in the past as well. In 2014 and also in 2018. So, when I used to play, even then I played in dark blue as well," he said while speaking to ANI.
"But this time, the change that was made was not done under anyone's pressure, nor was it done at anyone's behest. This is only from our players', coaches', their opinion, their suggestion, and technically, on the ground, the turf is also blue and the jersey is also blue. How can visibility be better? How can the coordination between our players be better? How can they see each other more clearly? With that thought, this colour was chosen," he added.
Tirkey urged fans to back the Indian hockey team ahead of the World Cup and avoid unnecessary controversy over the new jersey, saying the change was made for the benefit of players and based on their feedback. He added that the orange jersey is not permanent and can be changed in the future if players and support staff feel a different option would work better.
"I would only like to say that our World Cup is going to start on August 15 in the Netherlands; after that, the final round will be in Belgium. So, we should send the team with this hope that the team performs better in the World Cup and comes back after performing well; let's encourage them so that every player and the team performs well with this jersey. And regarding this, don't take it into unnecessary controversy and don't bring it into unnecessary dispute. It has been done only and only for the players, for the team, and based on the opinion of the players and the coach," he said.
"In the future, look, this is not the permanent jersey of Team India, and if needed, we will work on what else can be better than this, and if the players and supporting staff don't find it better, we can improve and change it in the future," he added.
The Indian men's team will start their World Cup campaign on August 15 against Wales. The women's team, on the other hand, will start their campaign on August 16 against China.