Indian hockey jersey row: Sports should not become political experiment, says Kharge

The controversy erupted after Hockey India unveiled a new saffron primary jersey for the men’s and women’s teams. The federation has said that the redesign was meant to improve player visibility against blue synthetic turfs and that saffron was chosen as one of the.

But this has raised questions over the decision and has drawn criticism from opposition leaders and some former players such as Olympic gold medal-winning captain Vasudevan Baskaran and former India captain Viren Rasquinha. In a post made in Hindi on X, Kharge said the.

What Happened

He added that Indian teams have long been recognised as the “Men in Blue”, “The Blues” and the “Blue Tigers”, calling the blue jersey a legacy of Indian sport. Kharge also claimed that the jersey issue was part of a larger pattern.

• Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

• India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting.

• The issue has sparked a wider political debate, with the Congress accusing the government of attempting to reshape national sporting symbols.

Key Details

The federation has denied any political motive behind the change.

• He urged the government to “immediately reconsider this decision” and asked why Hockey India’s Executive Board was not consulted before the decision to change the jersey colour was changed.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by ThePrint as more details emerge