Asiad: Star son Vedaant Madhavan set to make his bow at the pool

The 10-member Indian swimming team for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will be hoping to end a 12-year medal drought, dating back to Sandeep Sejwal’s bronze at Incheon 2014. Making his Asian Games debut will be Vedaant Madhavan, the 21-year-old son of Tamil and Bollywood film star R. Madhavan.

Vedaant, who will be competing in his favourite event, the 200m freestyle, as well as the 200m backstroke, is also part of the 4x200m relay team. He made the cut after clocking a personal best of 1:53.89 in the 200m freestyle to finish fourth at the Nationals in June. The squad will be spearheaded by experienced two-time Olympians Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash, for both of whom this could be their final Asian Games appearance.

The Madhavan family, it may be recalled, relocated to Dubai during the pandemic to help Vedaant pursue his Olympic dreams. While Vedaant was enrolled in the international curriculum at Universal American School in Dubai, he honed his skills at a private academy under the watchful eye of Dronacharya Awardee Pradeep Kumar Sreedharan. Saritha Madhavan, the actor’s wife, stayed with Vedaant in Dubai, while Madhavan himself alternated between his work commitments and trips to the UAE.

Speaking during several interactions over the past few years, Vedaant admitted that he was aware of the tough grind that lay ahead, given that Indian swimmers were yet to emerge as a potential force even at the continental level, with just nine medals to show for at the Games.

“I don’t really like to have the title of being R. Madhavan’s son,” Vedaant said during the 2023 Khelo India Youth Games in Bhopal, where he was leading the Maharashtra contingent.

The fuss surrounding him at Prakash Taran Pushkar, the swimming venue for the Khelo India Youth Games, was understandable, but Vedaant was not happy about it. “I want to create my own identity, and I want my competitors to respect me for who I am,” he had remarked.

The swimming squad, which does not have a single female member in this edition, was given a send-off after completing its long preparatory camp at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad from 1 August to 10 September.

Speaking on the occasion, Arjuna awardee and Commonwealth Games medallist archer Dola Banerjee highlighted the significant improvement in sporting facilities and support systems available to Indian athletes over the years and hoped that these would be reflected in their performances.

“When I used to compete, we often faced a paucity of equipment. Today, there is no such scarcity, and I have no doubt that our contingent, including our swimmers, will perform very well this time too,” remarked Banerjee, a member of the Indian Olympic Association Executive Council.

Pradeep Kumar, a Dronacharya awardee and head coach of the team, appreciated the ‘discipline and hard work’ displayed by the swimmers during the preparatory camp and expressed confidence in their performance at the Asian Games.

Kamlesh Nanavati, vice-president of the SFI, urged the swimmers to focus on their preparation and express themselves freely without coming under pressure during competition. “The players have been very disciplined and have put in their best efforts during the camp. I have no doubt that they will give their best performance at the Games,” said Nanavati.

10-member swimming squad

Akash Mani, Aneesh Kumar Gowda, Benediction Rohit, Dhakshan, Heer Gitesh, Sajan Prakash (Captain), Srihari Natraj, Utkarsh Santosh Patil, Danush Suresh and Vedaant Madhavan.