Senior Indian forward Prabhjot Singh has apologised for his improper behaviour during the hockey World Cup when he was caught showing his middle finger to a section of crowd.
Prabhjot, after India's defeat against Argentina on March 12, was heckled by some fans near the eastern stand, and in the heat of the moment he showed to them his finger.
Prabhjot in his reply to the show cause notice, served on him by Hockey India, said he lost his cool when some fans started abusing his family members.
"Firstly, I would like to apologize that an inappropriate action. The incident that happened was a result of a series of events.
"A particular group of people supporting the opposition team had been regularly staying back after every match and passing lewd comments about me and the team during our cool down sessions.
"I had ignored their provocative behavior during the previous matches. However during our last match, they starting passing lewd comments on my family, me and the team during our cool down session. In addition to this they started showing provocative gestures and became derogatory.
"In the heat of the moment, I revolted to protect me and my family's integrity and unfortunately this was picked up by the media. I apologize for the incident," he said in his reply, according to Hockey India.
The seasoned player though said he would refrain from doing anything in future which would bring shame to him and the team.
"Please be assured that I am committed towards hockey and have given my entire life and devotion for this game and do not intend to bring the game or the National Hockey Team in disrespect," Prabhjot said in his reply to the showcause notice.