Last Update: January 21, 2023, 09:51 IST
Tennis star Alexander Zverev (AP)
Alexander Zverev is making a comeback from tearing ankle ligaments at the French Open last year, diagnosed at the age of three, where the body cannot produce insulin
Alexander Zverev revealed on Saturday that he was told he would never be an elite athlete because of type 1 diabetes, firing out to prove the doubters wrong.
The German former world number two, who was making a comeback from tearing ankle ligaments at the French Open last year, was diagnosed at the age of three with a chronic condition where the body cannot produce insulin.
“My parents were very scared. They were very worried. Mum was crying a lot,” he said on Australia’s Channel Nine when he was first diagnosed.
“A lot of parents are scared off by a lot of doctors who say ‘your child is too limited’, which is not the case.
“I always told the doctors, ‘Yeah, well, I want to play tennis. That’s the only thing I really care about’.
Some of them said, “No, you have to stop … You can’t be a professional athlete with this kind of disease.” There is no way you can play such a tough physical sport.
“It really stuck in my mind, which bothered me quite a bit to be honest. I don’t think you should set any limits for the kids, because I think it’s not fair to them.”
The 25-year-old Zverev has become one of the top players in the world, winning 19 ATP titles and an Olympic gold medal.
Last year, he founded the Alexander Zverev Foundation to help young people avoid limiting themselves because of status.
He told the broadcaster, “It was the goal of my foundation, to send a message out there that you can live a normal life.” You can become anything with a disease like this.
“There are a lot of Olympic gold medalists with diabetes. There are a lot of great footballers in Europe too. There’s really no limit to what you can do.”
Zverev admitted he had struggled to accept his condition in the past and tried to hide it from the world while feeling “uncomfortable”, but decided to go public last year to help others.
Now, he sometimes administers insulin during matches.
He said, “In matches you never see me doing shots or anything like that… I was going to the bathroom to do it, which is not the right thing to do because you should never be ashamed of it.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)