‘Not looking to be in spotlight’: Vedaant Madhavan ahead of Asian Games

Bollywood actor R Madhavan’s son Vedaant Madhavan is refusing to let the spotlight surrounding his famous surname distract him as he prepares to represent India at the upcoming Asian Games in Japan, beginning September 19.

The 21-year-old swimmer is set to compete at the biggest stage of his career so far, with his focus firmly on delivering in the pool and representing the country on the international stage.

Despite the attention that comes with being the son of a prominent Bollywood actor, Vedaant insists that fame is not something he is chasing.

“I’m not looking to be in the spotlight. I’m just looking to do good for myself and my country as a swimmer,” Vedaant told PTI.

“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.

Ambitious mindset

As he prepares for the Asian Games, Vedaant is drawing confidence from his own abilities and has adopted an ambitious mindset ahead of the competition.

“If you shoot for the stars, you land on the moon,” is the mantra he is taking into the 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,” he said.

Vedaant is also aware of the pressure that comes with representing India, particularly for a country with a huge population. He admits that being R Madhavan’s son could bring an additional layer of attention, but says his training has taught him to keep external pressure out of his performance.

“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,” he said.

“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,” Vedaant added.

'We're like brothers'

Vedaant also opened up about the challenges faced by the Indian swimming contingent during its preparations for the Asian Games.

While the training camp had its share of difficulties, he believes those experiences ultimately brought the team closer together.

“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,” he said.

“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.