The late Robert Schuller once said, “Tough times never last. Tough people do.” And Malaysia’s featherweight sensation Keanu Subba is the latest to discover the truth behind one of the most inspirational quotes of all time.
Subba’s ONE Championship return at ONE: FOR HONOR in May was going well right until the martial artist broke his shin courtesy of a checked inside leg kick by Japan’s Ryogo “Kaitai” Takahashi.
He was rushed to the hospital in Jakarta for surgery, and as the Kuala Lumpur-based martial artist recalled it was a tiring period.
“The first three weeks after surgery was the worst because I couldn’t do anything at all. I struggled to even do the simplest of things, such as going to the toilet,” the 25-year-old athlete said.
“Everyday was just painful. My leg was not able to straighten fully. It was a very emotional period for me.”
To make matters worse, once the Monarchy MMA representative returned to Malaysia for a medical checkup, he received more bad news.
Doctors said they needed to perform another surgery on his fractured tibia and fibula [the bones that form the shin] while he was still in pain.
“At that time, I was on loads of painkillers too. And two weeks later, I forced myself to stop taking it as I was getting too used to it.”
“I wanted to see whether there was another way to avoid surgery and speed up my recovery process.”
The former MIMMA Champion took matters in his own hands and worked “overtime” during his rehabilitation process.
Since he could not perform his usual three-time-a-day mixed martial arts training, Subba swapped it with various rehabilitation routines.
“I started doing two hours of cycling from 6 to 8am, and at 10am I’d do another strengthening exercise,” he shared.
“In the evening, I would go for a swim. I did all that with the hope that I could be on track for a faster recovery.”
Thankfully for Subba, his utter courage to get back on track was rewarded substantially.
“When I went for my latest checkup last month, doctors told me that I was showing tremendous improvements,” Subba said in a joyful tone.
“They even told me I would not need surgery after all. That was great news.”
Tough times truly never last for Subba.
For more martial arts action, be sure to watch ONE Championship’s next event ONE: IMMORTAL TRIUMPH on Friday, 6 September.
Video link #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsIwjwcE1TY
Instagram link #1: https://www.instagram.com/p/ByHJhBRngbT/
Instagram link #2: https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Fx6cnnOS5/
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