I am on MC today. After Saturday’s street soccer session ended, I could barely stand. At first I brushed it off as fatigue wearing down on me and told myself that all I needed was a good rest, but when I woke up today feeling the exact same pain, I knew it wasn’t fatigue. Upon confirmation from the doctor, I had suffered a strained tendon on my right leg.

I am advised to stay away from running for a few days, but thankfully I have been given the OK to hit the gym and work on my upper body and limbs.

Originally, it was a 4 on 4 contest. That was until a team mate got whacked in his ‘precious jewels’. Mind you, he was a small kid. After that incident, he did not want to play anymore. From then on, we had 2 possible actions to be taken: Either declare the match a direct defeat or we could play on albeit with a 1 man handicap. Those who know me well would probably know which I would choose.

With a man down, playing at 100% is not sufficient. We had to really give beyond our all, and I recalled sprinting from one end of the court to another. Though we still lost in the end, I ended the game playing beyond my physical limits. As a result, I suffered an injury.

I know many would be telling me to lighten up and just treat it as a leisure game. The doctor echoed their sentiments:

Don’t strain yourself too much, it is okay to lose.

I am a fighter and a competitor. I hate to lose even though it isn’t the most important thing to me. It is not difficult to see why I admire Swiss international footballer Valon Behrami. He has a fighting spirit worth commending and he always gives 110% commitment in every game he plays.

The last thing I would ever want would be my team giving up. So if I were to be given another opportunity to change things, I would still give my 110% and still come away with a strained leg tendon.

That’s just Darran for you.