Actor R Madhavan relocated to Dubai with his family during the pandemic, so that his son Vedaant Madhavan could train well for his budding swimming career. Five years later, Vedaant is all set to participate in his biggest competition yet — Asian Games 2026, which will be held in Japan later this month. He is confident heading into the Games and says the spotlight doesn’t really affect him.

Vedaant Madhavan on Asian Games preparation

“I’m not looking to be in the spotlight. I’m just looking to do good for myself and my country as a swimmer,” claimed the young swimmer. “If you do good, you’ll be in the spotlight. If you don’t do good, you’re not. So, it does not matter who you are,” he added.

“If you shoot for the stars, you you land on the moon,” is the mantra Vedaant Madhavan is swearing by, heading into Asian Games. “I feel if you want to succeed in life, you have to be kind of egotistical, where in your mind, it’s already fixed, and you know that you’re going to win, no matter what,” Vedaant told PTI.

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He also explained that dealing with pressures like this have been part of his training for Asian Games. “There’s always a chip on your shoulder no matter who you are because we’re a country of almost 1 billion people. Everyone’s watching, so there’s always a chip on your shoulder. Of course, it being me might be a little bit more pressure, but I don’t think about it. We’re trained in a specific way where pressure shouldn’t affect us. And when we go to the pool, it’s just us in the water and nothing else,” said Vedaant.

Madhavan’s son also revealed that the Indian swimming contingent faced its share of issues during the training camp, but emerged closer as a team. “We’re all like brothers. There were a lot of issues during the camp, but what they say about issues is that issues just end up bringing people closer together. So, I think we’ve all grown as individuals as well as a team, and our morale cannot be higher. We’re all very excited and optimistic, and we know that we’re just going to go to Japan and kill it,” he added.

Vedaant Madhavan on India’s sporting potential

During the interaction, Vedaant Madhavanalso lauded the inherent sporting potential of India, claiming that his fellow countrymen can perform far better if they improve their diet. “Indians have a lot of talent. Genetically, we’re really gifted. So, if we can fix our diet, our discipline, our motivation, then we can be some really good and serious athletes. The main thing that’s holding us back, I would say, is the diet,” argued Vedaant.

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“Our bodies are evolved to where we store a lot more fat because of past u events that’s affected this. So, if we can start eating more protein and taking better care of our diet then I feel there’s a lot more that we can achieve from our genetic pool,” added the swimmer. Vedaant said that working with a dietician has helped improve both his body and his swimming over the past few months.