Hurt by Joaquim Carvalho's allegations that the foreign imports are not showing commitment in the Premier Hockey League, the players from overseas hit back at the Indian coach, saying they are not here on holiday trips.
After Carvalho's criticism, the foreign players exhibited commendable performances to bag 'man of the match' awards in the last three games and prove their worth in PHL.
Dutch' Oscar Ter Weeme, Korean's You Hyo-sik and Pakistan's Salman Akbar gave a befitting reply to Carvalho by playing to their potential and winning the awards.
"Without full commitment, it would have been difficult for my team to win the match. I gave my cent per cent on the field," said Salman Akbar, who helped Sher-e-Jalandhar defeat Maratha Warriors last night.
The Pakistan captain said Carvalho's comments had lowered the stature of PHL, which was doing its best to groom talent.
"We are here to play hockey and not on a holiday trip," Salman said, adding all the 21 foreign players in the league are giving their best.
The Dutch players also joined Akbar and expressed their resentment against Carvalho's remarks.
"We are here to play hockey and are trying our best to make a difference," said Oscar Ter Weeme.
"I think that the national coach's comments were made by just watching initial couple of matches...it was too early to judge the commitment level of a player," Oscar said.
Eric Jan Iding, a young Dutch player in Chennai Veerans team, said it took some time for the foreign players to get adjusted to the team before delivering the goods.
"Many of our players are not getting enough opportunity to play and the impact a player can have in the match also depends on what position he is playing. Players also joined the team very late and thus had problem in knowing their specific team's style of play," he said.
Korean hero You Hyo-sik, who helped Bangalore Hi-Fliers defeat Chandigarh Dynamos, asserted that he always gave his best while playing in a professional league like PHL.
"I am determined to play good hockey here. Hockey is a team game and has to be played as per the requirement of he team," he said.
