KOCHI: After finishing a training session in 2001, Anju Bobby George felt there was something wrong with her body. She was taking more time to recover and there were fainting episodes because of allergies. What followed shattered her. Her doctor said she was born with only one kidney. It could have been the deathknell for the 23-year-old. But the long-jumper did not let that define her life. She altered her training regimen and lifestyle with the help of coach and husband, Robert Bobby George.
Within two years, she had become the first — and till now the only — Indian to medal at the World Championships. What’s even more astonishing is that she had kept it a secret till Monday, when she revealed it on Twitter, to help raise awareness and break stereotypes. “Everyone is distressed due to the pandemic and all the uncertainties resulting from it. The reason why I decided to share this now is in the hope that it offers some motivation during such times.
Maybe it can help athletes who have some kind of trouble and are having self-doubts because of them,” Anju told this daily. “I was not recovering quickly. I would also faint sometimes due to allergies to medicines and pain-killers... at first, I was scared because I was seeing myself as this perfect athlete and had all these dreams.”
But she has seldom let obstacles come in her way. In fact, weeks before those Worlds in 2003, she was not recovering after competitions. Experts told she would need six months’ rest. Within 20 days, she had jumped into history.