Watford badminton player wins a transplant sports medal in Lisbon

The badminton player who received a kidney and liver transplant has won a bronze medal at the European Transplant Sports Championship despite his recent diagnosis of diabetes.

Andy Taylor, from Watford, owns it. Polycystic kidney disease He had a kidney and liver transplant in 2016.

In December he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, induced by steroid tablets used as part of a transplant retrieval.

The 58-year-old said, “It was a shock to me. I thought I wasn't doing my best with the organs I received. It was really tough.”

Since 2019, Taylor has competed in medal-winning national, European and global port games.

He said the competition was an emotional experience after his donor saved his life and helped him recover.

He said: “You'll be given a second chance and you don't want to ruin it.

“To be given the gift you have to do justice — how you behave physically or as a human being.

“There is such a level of warmth and understanding to be in the gym where everyone gets it or experiences it.

“There are people out there who compete, but everyone there has already won the game of life.”

When he was told by the doctor, he was told he had diabetes, he spent the next few months in “bad places.”

“I thought it would affect how I play because I told you to cut down on carbs, but you need carbs for the sake of energy,” he said.

“I had a really hard vegetable diet, but I played three or four times a week, normally in the mornings and didn't go through the sessions because I had no energy.”

He said reaching medal-winning position was “a considerable challenge.”

He received advice from the treatment team at King's College at Cambridge University, consulted a sports nutritionist and gave new advice: “You can eat something that's right for the event, not the condition.”

“Then, for the rest of the time, I'll be careful,” he said.

On Wednesday, weeks after receiving his new diet plan, Taylor's wife, Kate, was in the crowd at the European Transplant Sports Championship in Lisbon.

The medal winner said: “It's always important to set goals. My thing was to represent the UK. It's great to do that. It's a medal. It's always good to win a medal.

“We win there and win for your country, but we highlight the benefits of porting and show our appreciation for your second chance.”

Taylor also represented the UK in doubles table tennis.

He was beaten “very convincingly” by the Greek pair, and one of his opponents told him: “It's not about winning, it's the fact that we're here.”