Bhubaneswar: BJD president and former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday expressed “anguish” over the change of colour of the Indian hockey team’s jersey to saffron from traditional blue. While expressing concern over the change, Patnaik said, “The iconic shade of blue of the Indian hockey team is not just a colour. Expressing his emotions associated with hockey, Patnaik, who was a school hockey team goalkeeper, said, “We have cried, laughed, celebrated and stood proudly with our men and women in blue. I am deeply anguished to know that the legendary colour of the Indian hockey team’s jersey has been changed to saffron. For decades, this… pic.twitter.com/4cgXOvpxdJ — Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) July 30, 2026Highlighting the blue jersey, he said, “Our blue jersey is to us what the iconic stripes are to Argentina, and the yellow jersey is to Brazil.