Asiad 2026: Madhavan’s son Vedaant fails to qualify for final on debut | Asian Games 2026

Vedaant Madhavan’s Asian Games debut ended without a final berth as India missed out on the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay medal race in Aichi-Nagoya on Monday.

The 21-year-old swimmer, son of actor R Madhavan, was part of a mixed day for the Indian swimming contingent, with Srihari Nataraj providing the biggest positive by qualifying for the men’s 50m backstroke final.

Several other Indian swimmers, including Rishabh Das, Akash Mani, Geetesh Shah and Dhanush Suresh, failed to progress from their respective heats.

Vedaant Madhavan misses relay final

Madhavan, Sajan Prakash, Dhakshan Shashikumar and Aneesh Sunil clocked 7:24.32 to finish ninth among 13 teams in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay qualification round.

Who is Vedaant Madhavan?

Vedaant Madhavan is the son of actor R Madhavan and a competitive swimmer who represents India. A freestyle specialist, he has competed at several international meets and has been part of India’s senior swimming setup.

Madhavan won five gold medals at the 2023 Malaysia Open and has also competed at meets in Europe and the United States. He represented Virginia Tech and has continued to train and compete at the international level.

His selection for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games marked another step in his swimming career.

Srihari Nataraj qualifies for 50m backstroke final

Srihari Nataraj emerged as the only Indian swimmer to progress to a final on Monday. The two-time Olympian clocked 25.37 seconds in the men’s 50m backstroke heats. He finished third in his heat and joint ninth overall, recording the same time as Iran’s Homer Abbasi.

Rishabh Das narrowly missed the final after clocking 25.41 seconds. He finished 11th overall and was listed as the reserve.

Akash Mani, Geetesh Shah and Dhanush Suresh eliminated

Akash Mani and Geetesh Shah failed to progress from the men’s 50m freestyle heats.

Mani finished 26th overall in 23.43 seconds after topping his heat, while Shah clocked 23.57 seconds to finish 28th overall.

South Korea’s Youngbeom Kim set a new Games record of 21.71 seconds in the event.

Dhanush Suresh also missed out on the final in the men’s 100m breaststroke. He finished eighth in his heat and 22nd overall with a time of 1:03.46.