Not a complete saffron turnaround: Hockey India’s 2026 Asian Games kit choice explained
Hockey India has confirmed that it has chosen blue as its primary color and saffron as its secondary color for the 2026 Asian Games.
This development has led to suggestions that the Indian hockey teams have ditched the saffron jersey and reverted to their traditional blue permanently. But Hockey India has not confirmed this.
The federation’s position is that blue and saffron are its preferred colors for the Asian Games, with blue listed first and saffron second. Hockey India has not decided to do away with saffron permanently, while officials also said that the color scheme for future tournaments will be discussed separately.
The final official kits for the Asian Games are yet to be revealed.
WHAT DOES HOCKEY INDIA SAY?
The Indian Olympic Association has asked Hockey India to submit a preferred color combination for the Asian Games kits.
Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey confirmed that the federation has preferred blue and saffron as secondary.
“The IOA asked us about our kit color preference, we put blue as primary and saffron as secondary. As I said before the World Cup, the color change is not permanent,” Tirkey said on the sidelines of Tuesday’s exclusion from the Asian Games.
Hockey India treasurer Sekar J. Manoharan also confirmed the federation’s position.
“We were asked to prioritize sets and we gave blue and saffron. Blue was primary and saffron was secondary,” Manoharan said.
Asked if this was a permanent change, Manoharan said the preference was for the Asian Games.
“That’s for the Asian Games. Where blue will be primary and saffron secondary.”
On what happens after the tournament, he added, “For future tournaments, we will discuss it and see how it goes. For the Asian Games, it will be blue and saffron.”
Hockey India also told India Today that there is no official confirmation of a permanent jersey change to saffron and that any suggestion to the contrary remains speculation.
WHY THE CONFUSION?
The confusion lies in the difference between a tournament-specific kit preference and a permanent decision on national team kit colours.
For the Asian Games, Hockey India clearly indicated their preference for blue as their primary color and saffron as their secondary. But saffron remains part of the proposed color scheme.
More importantly, Hockey India has not said that saffron will not be used after the Asian Games.
Federation officials instead said the choice of colors for future tournaments would be discussed separately. Until such a decision is made, it would be inaccurate to conclude that the saffron jersey has been permanently abandoned.
The problem attracted attention because Hockey India’s decision to introduce saffron as the primary color of the jersey during the FIH Hockey World Cups, it drew considerable criticism.
Indian hockey teams have long been associated with the color blue and the switch to saffron has also sparked disapproval from the Hockey India management. Tirkey questioned the decision-making process at that time with the fact that it did not receive the approval of the elected leadership and the executive board of the federation.
He also claimed that the color change is not permanent.
WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE FINAL KITS
Another important detail is that the official kits of the Asian Games have not been revealed yet.
Hockey India has announced its preferred IOA colours, but the final design and look of the teams’ jerseys will be known only after the release of the official jerseys.
For now, Hockey India’s position is clear. Blue is his primary color preference for the Asian Games, while saffron is a secondary choice.
This does not mean that saffron has been completely removed from the teams’ kits. Even Hockey India has not announced a permanent return to blue.
The only confirmed decision currently concerns the federation’s color preference for the Asian Games. What the final kits will look like and what colors India will wear in future tournaments remains to be seen.
– The end
Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
08 Sep 2026 19:24 IST