Bhola Nath disputes Tirkey’s claim he was kept in the dark over India’s switch to saffron ahead of World Cup
Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh told PTI on October 31, 2026 that he disputes federation president Dilip Tirkey’s assertion that Tirkey was unaware India switched its primary kit from blue to saffron ahead of the World Cup. Bhola Nath said both officials were informed of the change.
The jersey alteration provoked controversy before the tournament after Tirkey said the decision was taken without the knowledge or approval of Hockey India’s Executive Board. Bhola Nath countered that players and the team management were shown multiple options and opted for saffron, and he criticised the timing of the dispute as a potential distraction before the World Cup and the Asian Games. "For us, the game is important, hockey is important. The biggest thing is that before the World Cup, before the Asian Games, whether it is me or anyone else, it is a very open world. The one who loves hockey, it is our job not to disturb the players by raising all these issues. This could have been sorted out later," he said.
Bhola Nath said the team had been presented with four to five jersey designs before settling on orange, describing that process as part of the decision. He directly contradicted Tirkey’s timeline, stating: "About the jersey colour change, as much as Dilip Tirkey knew, I also knew. And the next day he said that he didn't know," Bhola Nath said.
Concerned about the effect on players, Bhola Nath urged them to avoid engaging with the controversy and to concentrate on performance. He highlighted the difficulty of isolating the squad from public debate because of social media exposure: "All the players have mobile phones, Facebook, Instagram, they are all on social media and they watch everything on social media. Such things should not have happened. Whoever has done this, it was not good," he said.
The issue re-emerged ahead of the Asian Games when Tirkey signalled a return to blue as the primary kit with white as the alternate, but the national side continued to wear saffron as its primary colour at that continental event. The team has also used the same saffron kit in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy in Punjab.
Bhola Nath argued the controversy did not materially affect results, pointing to India’s outcomes at the Asian Games: both the men's and women's teams won gold medals while securing qualification for the Los Angeles Olympics. India’s hockey sides have traditionally worn blue for much of their international history, dating back to the country's Olympic debut in 1928, and the switch to saffron ahead of the World Cup represented a departure from that long-standing identity, keeping the decision a topic of discussion beyond the federation.
