Hockey India unveils new playing kit ahead of Olympics qualifiers

Both the men's and women's senior teams will don the new jersey at the upcoming FIH Series Finals 2019 which will serve as the first step towards qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic.

Indian skipper Manpreet Singh

Hockey India on Saturday unveiled a new-look official playing kit for the senior Indian hockey teams.

The men's team led by midfielder Manpreet Singh will don the new uniform at the forthcoming FIH Mens Series Finals' in Bhubaneshwar starting on 6 June, while the women's team led by striker Rani Rampal will be seen wearing the new kit at the FIH Women's Series Finals in Hiroshima starting 15 June.

The brand new uniform created by the official kitting partners Shiv Naresh, is a darker shade of blue which sports the Indian tri-colour on the sleeves and on the shoulders.

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"We feel a lot of pride in wearing the India jersey and several young players work hard round the year to find an opportunity to wear the India kit which also features their unique Hockey India playing number and only a few are fortunate enough to have this privilege.

Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal unveils the new kit for the Series Finals.

 

The official playing kit always holds a very special place in every player's heart and we are thrilled to receive this new-look, newly designed Indian uniform ahead of our important campaign at the FIH Men's Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019," Manpreet said.

Women's team skipper, Rani Rampal, too reflected her team's excitement saying: "We absolutely love the new uniform. We also received new training kit and we are excited about it.

The colours are bold, vibrant and I think in a way reflects the aggression we want to showcase in our game. The material used is dry-fit making it very light and breathable when we play matches."

The men's Series Finals, which will be played from June 6-15 at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, will serve as the first step for India’s Olympic qualification process, where it has been placed with Poland, Russia and Uzbekistan in Pool A, while South Africa, Japan, the U.S. and Mexico are in Pool B.

For the women's Series Finals, which will be played from June 15-23 at Hiroshima, Japan where it has been placed with Poland, Uruguay and Fiji in Pool A, while Japan, Chile, Russia and Mexico are in Pool B.