Yuvraj Singh in action in Bengaluru where he is busy practicing and getting back to form

Talent, skill, sheer determination and will have taken our sports icons to dizzying heights and we have rejoiced at each of those achievements. Yet, we are quick to overlook their battle with illness and health problems, expecting them to rise up and deliver yet again.

From Yuvraj Singh’s recovery from cancer and his recent inclusion in the T20 squad to Serena Williams’ recovery from a pulmonary embolism and her sensational win at the Wimbledon and Olympics 2012. Sports stars have battled health problems time and again and made sensational comebacks. But little is known about their tough road to recovery.
“Initially it was hard to accept that a guy like me, who trains six to seven hours a day, can get diagnosed with something like this (cancer). It took six months to diagnose whether I had cancer. It took a long time to sink in but eventually I made peace with it. I knew I had an issue and I needed to sort it out,” explains a very focused Yuvraj Singh who has been training doggedly to get back into form.
Badminton ace Parupalli Kashyap too battled hard to overcome his asthma problems. Kashyap, who put up a good fight at the Olympics and surprised everyone by reaching the quarterfinals, has been suffering from asthma since he was a child, “I still have asthma and take medication. I have to be watchful and aware. As a sportsman I love challenges and this is also a challenge of sorts and one has to beat it every day. I stay away from cold stuff, low temperatures, dust, avoid citrus fruits, humidity and don’t get tense.”
The shuttler feels that apart from being focused, “One has to work five times as hard on endurance training. If I find that I am getting tired early on, then I have to train harder. It’s a large part of a whole; if one thing goes well, everything else goes well. So from one’s diet and training to mental make-up, everything has to be monitored.”
With the Euro fever over, little is known about Italian powerhouse Antonio Cassano’s health issues. The striker, whose skilful passes created many openings for his team, had suffered from an ischemic-based complication, according to an announcement by AC Milan. Thankfully, it was temporary and the footballer underwent a minor heart surgery and was back in action.
Says Sathwik Rai, racquetball captain of the Indian team, “Overcoming setbacks such as injury or a health issue is a major challenge. Sheer determination and positive thinking are the two catalysts. It may seem comfortable to feel sorry for yourself and conclude that life has been unfair to you, but athletes who make remarkable comebacks after injuries or illness do it by their sheer mental grit and determination.”
Yuvraj is candid about his struggles, “I just want to spread the message to others who are diagnosed with such a disease that they can also fight it with the support of family and loved ones. Mentally, I think a cancer-stricken person should be positive. One needs to find a lot of happiness inside. Obviously this had hit me very hard. Cancer is out of my system but the scar remains. In future, I want to do something for people who are affected by it.”
Kashyap too is dogged in his efforts to stay fit. “I got an attack during a match some time ago and while there is preventive medication, it takes time to effect. Most often there is no time to let it react.”
Badminton coach Tom John, who used to coach England and Portugal and now has an academy in Bengaluru, has been working on bringing badminton ace Anup Sridhar (who was in the top 15 at one time) back to form after a couple of injuries and knee operations. He says, “When a player loses form due to injury, it takes insurmountable effort to get back to form. The coaches are under pressure but if the coach believes in the player, the rehabilitation is thorough and the injury does not occur again and, then form is regained. There are often negative impacts too, for example when sponsors are demanding or a player is needed to play or the ranking falls.”
Sathwik agrees, “Finding inspiration to work harder in such situations is key. You have to feed your mind with positive thoughts and believe that you will be fine. Support from friends, family and fans is crucial during recovery.”
For Yuvraj, it was his mother who was his biggest support, “I don’t think that without her I would have made this journey. (Cycling legend) Lance Armstrong was very inspiring. Five to six years ago, I was reading his book and left it midway for some reason. May be I had to complete it this way. He had a similar cancer but his was in the last stage while mine was detected early. I gain inspiration from comebacks. I set small goals to track my progress. I surround myself with people who are positive and avoid self-pity at any cost! I had Anil Bhai (Kumble) and my close friend Ranvijay Singh visiting and that meant so much to me. I went through chemotherapy which is hard for everybody but the wishes and the love (of my fans) are what made me come back,” says the cricketer who is back in Team India.
Tom, who has also coached Saina Nehwal when he was head coach at the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad, says, “There are a lot of things that are important — psychological fitness, good treatment, giving the athlete enough time to recover — and the coach needs to believe in the athlete. It takes a toll when other players are improving and you are sitting there, doing nothing; it is key to let recovery and form take its course, and to believe.”