Siddhant Narayan's inspiring journey from injury to full recovery

As a sportsperson, life becomes a routine of training sessions and recovery time. It is the routine every child dreams of. For Siddhant Narayan, growing up was exactly this. Now working at a multi-national sports company, Siddhant started his younger days playing cricket like most Indian children.

Passion for cricket never goes away

As he grew older, Siddhant switched focussed to higher education. Determined to stay involved in the sport, he participated in several tournaments at the school, college and corporate levels.

But the ride isn’t always smooth in the world of sport. Injuries are part and parcel of every sport, but they can have a severe mental toll on player as well. An athlete’s true character is seen on how he reacts to an adversary.

Unfortunate injuries

In 2012, wicket-keeper batsman Siddhant, broke his ankle and knee in during a friendly football game. For a person who had spent almost every day on a field, being told that he wouldn’t be able to walk and run for months completely crushed him. “I was bed-ridden for days. It was a struggle just to get out of bed and walk to the kitchen for a glass of water,” Siddhant recalls.

It was an unfortunate injury, one that shattered his life. As an athlete, it is easy to feel invincible, but for Siddhant, the injury was more than just a wake-up call. After spending months in bed, and moving around with a walking stick, he says that the time opened his eyes. “We take simple things for granted. I was running and playing football, and the next minute, I’m down on the field and bed-ridden for months afterwards,” he says.

Another injury setback halted recovery

After recovering from the injury, Siddhant thought that the difficult times were behind him. But alas, that was not the case to be. A tennis-elbow injury followed his ankle break. The tennis elbow was caused as the months spent without holding a cricket bat had weakened his arms. Facing fast bowlers with a heavy bat & quick hand movements is the magic formula for tennis elbow to strike.

After this setback, Siddhant had almost reached his breaking point. The pain increased with every single day spent away from the cricket field. His lifestyle was hit for a six. He was in sixes and sevens, with the future very bleak. He even gained weight due to lack of exercise.

Realising a change was needed

A freak cycling accident also temporarily halted his progress. But shortly after, Siddhant‘s athletics instincts started to get the better of him. The will to succeed and push the body took control of his attitude. Siddhant laid out a plan and was resolute to see it through. “A complete turnaround was necessary. I had to change my attitude to change my lifestyle,” he said.

Siddhant visited a nutrition counsellor, a gym trainer and even took up running to achieve his short-term and long-term goals.

Nutrition turned Siddhant’s life around

Nutrition counsellor Ryan Fernando at Qua Nutrition ensured that Siddhant followed the plan, mainly by designing the plan to his needs. “He had the right attitude but I had to make that the plan fits his work, his lifestyle and is accessible for him to follow,” Fernando said.

And the change was remarkable. In less than four months, Siddhant lost 18 kilograms. What he lost in mass weight, he gained in muscle weight. Siddhant credits his transformation to his diet. “In all, the nutrition plan helped me 70% in becoming what I am now,” Siddhant said. But Fernando, who also helped Olympic silver medallist Sushil Kumar, was not at all surprised at the change. “Nutrition is like mathematics. It is a logical process and I knew that if Siddhant followed it with discipline, then the results would be clear,” Fernando said.

Rebuilding muscle strength

For a professional athlete, going through an injury is easier because there is a team to take care of the athletes’ needs. For the regular person, recovery is as painful as the injury blow. But with the right attitude, Siddhant sought a gym trainer who understood his situation. “My trainer Vishwa, knew what was right for me. He made sure I did not push too much even when I thought I could life that extra 5 pounds”, Siddhant said.

Almost ready to return to the cricket pitch

Now, Siddhant is completely injury free. He even completed in the Kaveri Trail marathon in Mysore and managed to finish the race without any pain in his knee or ankle. He also cycles his way to work. His lifestyle could well be the definition of health living. Siddhant continues to exercise his elbow to help it regain it’s strength. With just about a month or two shy of returning to the cricket pitch, Siddhant is already upbeat. “I always knew it was possible for me to reach this stage. Being an athlete all my life, I had an end goal, where I wanted to reach. And I was focussed to reach there,” Siddhant said.

His story has been an inspiration to many at his people around him. Siddhant is grateful for the change and happy to contribute to others around him. “An injury is the worst thing that can happen to someone who lives and breathes sport, it’s the comeback that makes you a stronger person” he said.

And this philosophy truly defines Siddhant‘s attitude. After years of patience, perseverance and discipline, Siddhant is almost ready to take up his first love again.