India name swimming squad for Asian Games 2026
India have announced a 12-member swimming squad for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with Vedaant Madhavan, Srihari Nataraj, and Sajan Prakash set to lead the team, according to Olympics.com. The swimming events will take place from September 20 to 25 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
Vedaant, the 21-year-old son of actor R Madhavan, will compete in the men's 200m freestyle and 200m backstroke, and has also been included in India's 4x200m freestyle relay team. At the national championships in June, he finished fourth in the 200m freestyle final with a personal best time of 1:53.89.
Srihari Nataraj, who represented India at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics, will swim the men's 50m backstroke. Sajan Prakash, a Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympian, will take part in the 100m and 200m butterfly events.
Record-breakers in the squad
Distance swimmer Aryan Nehra has been named as a key member after a record-breaking domestic season. He became the first Indian swimmer to break the eight-minute mark in the 800m freestyle, setting a national record of 7:59.36, and also broke the 1500m freestyle national record.
Butterfly specialist Rohit Benedicton has also been included after improving his own national record in the 50m butterfly twice on the same day at the national championships, as reported by Olympics.com.
Recent form and team composition
Several squad members competed at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow last month. Sajan Prakash reached the 200m butterfly final, Srihari Nataraj progressed to the 100m backstroke semi-finals, and Aryan Nehra featured in the 800m and 1500m freestyle finals.
The full team comprises Rohit Benedicton, Rishabh Das, Vedaant Madhavan, Akash Mani, Srihari Nataraj, Aryan Nehra, Utkarsh Santosh Patil, Sajan Prakash, Heer Gitesh Shah, Dhakshan Shashikumar, Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda, and Danush Suresh, with their respective events as listed per Olympics.com.
Ending a long medal wait
India will aim to end a 12-year wait for an Asian Games swimming medal. Sandeep Sejwal was the last Indian swimmer to win a medal at the continental event, claiming bronze in the 50m breaststroke at Incheon 2014. At the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games, India failed to win a swimming medal despite recording six national records.