NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — Vedaant Madhavan will headline India’s 12-member swimming squad at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The 21-year-old swimmer will join two-time Olympians Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash as India targets a swimming medal at the continental event.
The swimming competition will take place from Sept. 20 to 25 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Vedaant, the son of actor R. Madhavan, will compete in the men’s 200-meter freestyle and 200-meter backstroke. He will also swim in the men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
Vedaant enters the Asian Games after a strong performance at the national championships in June. He finished fourth in the 200-meter freestyle final and recorded a personal best of 1:53.89. The result adds momentum to his growing international career.
Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash will provide valuable experience to the Indian swimming team. Srihari represented India at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics. At the Asian Games, he will compete in the men’s 50-meter backstroke.
Meanwhile, Sajan will take part in the men’s 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly events. The swimmer competed at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He also reached the 200-meter butterfly final at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow last month.
Distance swimmer Aryan Nehra will also play an important role for India. He enjoyed a record-breaking domestic season and became the first Indian swimmer to break the eight-minute barrier in the 800-meter freestyle.
Nehra clocked 7:59.36 to set a national record in the event. He also broke the national record in the 1,500-meter freestyle. At the Commonwealth Games, he competed in the finals of both distance events. His recent results make him one of India’s key medal prospects.
Butterfly specialist Rohit Benedicton also enters the Asian Games with strong form. He improved his own national record in the 50-meter butterfly twice on the same day at the national championships. He will also compete in the 100-meter butterfly and 100-meter freestyle.
The squad features several other swimmers across sprint, backstroke, freestyle, breaststroke and butterfly events. Rishabh Das will compete in the 50-meter and 100-meter backstroke. Utkarsh Santosh Patil will race in the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke.
Akash Mani and Heer Gitesh Shah will strengthen India’s sprint events. Mani will compete in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle, while Shah will contest the 50-meter freestyle.
Dhakshan Shashikumar will compete in the 400-meter freestyle and join the 4×200-meter freestyle relay team. Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda will race in the 200-meter and 400-meter freestyle.
Danush Suresh will compete in the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke.
India now faces a significant challenge in Aichi-Nagoya. The country has waited 12 years for a swimming medal at the Asian Games. Sandeep Sejwal remains the last Indian swimmer to win one after taking bronze in the 50-meter breaststroke at Incheon 2014.
