Not a full saffron U-turn: Hockey India's kit choice for Asian Games 2026 explained

Hockey India has confirmed that it has given blue as its primary colour preference and saffron as its secondary choice for the 2026 Asian Games.

The development has led to suggestions that India’s hockey teams have ditched the saffron jersey and permanently returned to their traditional blue. But that is not what Hockey India has confirmed.

The federation’s position is that blue and saffron are its preferred colours for the Asian Games, with blue listed first and saffron second. Hockey India has not taken a decision to permanently discard saffron, while officials have also said the colour scheme for future tournaments will be discussed separately.

The final official kits for the Asian Games are yet to be unveiled.

WHAT HAS HOCKEY INDIA SAID?

The Indian Olympic Association asked Hockey India to submit its preferred colour combination for the Asian Games kits.

Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey confirmed that the federation gave blue as its primary preference and saffron as its secondary choice.

“IOA asked us about our preference of colour for kit, we gave blue as primary and saffron as the second one. As I had already said before the World Cup that the colour change is not permanent,” Tirkey said on the sidelines of the Asian Games contingent send-off on Tuesday.

Hockey India treasurer Sekar J. Manoharan also confirmed the federation’s position.

“We were asked to give our preference for kits and we gave blue and saffron. Blue being the primary one and saffron as secondary,” Manoharan said.

When asked whether this was a permanent change, Manoharan said the preference applied to the Asian Games.

“This is for Asian Games. Where it will be blue as primary and saffron secondary.”

On what happens beyond the tournament, he added: “For future tournaments, we will discuss and see how it is. For Asian Games, it will be blue and saffron.”

Hockey India also told India Today that there is no official confirmation of a permanent change to the saffron jersey 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 the national teams’ jersey colours.

For the Asian Games, Hockey India has clearly indicated its preference for blue as the primary colour and saffron as the secondary one. But saffron remains part of the proposed colour scheme.

More importantly, Hockey India has not said that saffron will no longer be used after the Asian Games.

The federation’s officials have instead said that the colour choices for future tournaments will be discussed separately. Until such a decision is made, it would be inaccurate to conclude that the saffron jersey has been permanently abandoned.

The issue has attracted attention because Hockey India’s decision to introduce saffron as the primary jersey colour during the FIH Hockey World Cups had triggered significant criticism.

India’s hockey teams had long been associated with blue, and the switch to saffron also caused disagreement within Hockey India’s leadership. Tirkey questioned the decision-making process at the time, saying it had not received the approval of the federation’s elected leadership and Executive Board.

He had also maintained that the colour change was not permanent.

FINAL KITS STILL AWAITED

Another important detail is that the official Asian Games kits have not yet been unveiled.

Hockey India has communicated its preferred colours to the IOA, but the final design and appearance of the teams’ jerseys will only be known once the official kits are released.

For now, Hockey India’s position is straightforward. Blue is its primary colour preference for the Asian Games, while saffron is the secondary choice.

That does not amount to saffron being removed from the teams’ kit altogether. Nor has Hockey India announced a permanent return to blue.

The only confirmed decision currently concerns the federation’s colour preference for the Asian Games. What the final kits look like, and what colours India will wear at future tournaments, remain to be seen.

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