Hockey pitch to turn blue for London Olympics

In order to make the game more attractive and television-friendly, the FIH is set to conduct the hockey matches of the upcoming London Olympics on blue turf in place of the traditional green, while the balls will be yellow in colour.

"The venue for the hockey is outstanding and for the first time (in the history of the game) blue and pink pitch along with coloured balls will be used," FIH CEO Kelly Fairweather said.

- Vijender confident of making London Olympics

The hockey pitch at London's Riverbank Arena will be blue in colour, providing high levels of contrast with the yellow ball.

The outer boundary of the playfield has been coloured pink.

"Without a shadow of doubt, London will be the most magnificent Olympic Games and the hockey centre will be the place to be in during the Games," he added.

Fairweather, a former South African player and coach, revealed that the combination was put to test, particularly under lights, before being finalised.

"We have got amazing responses from the players. They don't have any issues with the change and have informed that it won't have any impact on their game," Fairweather said.

Interestingly, over time, the athletics' turf has turned red while some of the tennis courts have changed their colour to blue in place of green due to the demands of television.