Hockey India's 'blue' promise goes up in smoke; Indian teams wear saffron at Asiad

The Indian men's and women's hockey teams wore saffron jerseys in their respective opening matches at the Asian Games on Sunday, despite Hockey India's pre-event announcement that the teams would return to their traditional blue kits.Both teams wore saffron in their opening matches against Indonesia and Uzbekistan respectively in Kakamilgahara, Japan.The decision comes after the Indian teams, both men and women, had also worn saffron during last month's World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands, which led to a controversy within Hockey India.Indian hockey teams have largely worn blue jerseys since the country's Olympic debut in 1928, apart from a few isolated occasions.Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey had earlier said that the change in jersey colour was made without the knowledge or approval of the federation's elected leadership and Executive Board.