Anju Bobby George scaled the odds with just one kidney

Anju Bobby George, one of India’s most accomplished athletes, dropped a bombshell on Monday when she announced on Twitter that she reached the heights of her athletic career competing with just one kidney.

Anju secured a historic bronze medal in the long jump in the 2003 World Championship in Paris while undergoing intense physical ailments.

“By birth, I had this issue, I had only one kidney,” Anju said. “That affected my recovery a lot. In 2003, with 20 days to the World Championships, I had a lot of swelling. I had done a lot of competitions and did not have enough recovery time. So I met doctors in Germany and they said it’s fatigue because of my condition and that I should rest for six months.”

However, being the fighter that she is, Anju pushed through and won the bronze medal less than a handful of weeks later.

The long jumper only came to know of her condition at the turn of the millennium after she broke into the international realm where full-body test every three months was mandatory.

“I was young so I didn’t pay attention before. But when I reached the international level then we had to get check-ups every three months. That's when I got to know,” she revealed.

“I heard it (one kidney) around 2000-01 because I was facing a lot of problems. I was getting swelling, pain or different readings in my blood report. I am allergic to painkillers and I used to get admitted to the hospital (after taking them). That's when I got a full body check and found this issue.”

Despite her condition, Anju won a bronze medal in the 2002 Commonwealth Games and gold in 2002 Asian Games. While she added laurels to her name in many meets, her crowning achievement remains the bronze medal in the 2003 World Championships and the silver, which was subsequently upgraded to gold after the athlete above her tested positive for banned substances, in the 2005 IAAF World Athletics Final in Monte Carlo.

Asked why she chose to reveal this to the world now, the 43-year-old said: “When I was competing, if I had said it then people would have seen me differently. Now I don’t have that. This can be a motivation for people now, especially with the pandemic, that I managed to achieve what I did while dealing with such issues.”