Kolkata: At the Aqua Nation Sports Academy in Dubai, Vedaant Madhavan has no special treatment waiting for him. The 16-year-old son of R. Madhavan, the charismatic superstar of South Indian cinema, is only one of their advanced trainees with a big dream - that of making the cut for 2024 Paris Olympics.
It’s been little over one and-a-half years ever since the Covid-19 pandemic struck India that the Madhavans decided to set up a second home in Dubai to help their prodigiously talented son chase his Olympic dream - but they have hardly made a noise about it. It’s a tough daily grind that Vedaant has to follow, with mother Sarita pushing him along to maintain his balance between swimming and studies while the celebrity dad juggles his time between India and the UAE these days.
‘‘Every day, I wake up at around 4.15 am as I have to be at the pool by 4.30 am. My swimming class runs from 4.45 am to 6.30 am then I rush back home to get ready for school. My school hours are from 7.45 am to 3.15 pm. I come back home, finish my lessons or tuitions and then I go back to the pool again for swimming from 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm and then till 9 pm. I am at the pool for five hours daily and I also train under Pradeep sir (Pradeep Kumar, national coach of India and Dronacharya awardee) and I have progressed a lot in the last few months,’’ said Vedaant, a student of the Universal American School in Dubai.
Not too many people are aware that the ANSA, located in Dubai Healthcare City, had been acting as the hub for Indian swimmers’ Olympic preparations during the pandemic phase. Speaking to Gulf News in an exclusive zoom interview, Vedaant revealed how Sajan Prakash, the first Indian swimmer to qualify with a ‘A’ cut-off timing for Tokyo Olympics last year, had been a big motivation for him for nearly two years.
‘‘I have been training with Sajan for past two years, I know him from the Asian age-group days. After I joined the academy here, Sajan joined in two months’ time as he couldn’t continue with his training for Olympics in India with most of the clubs and academies closed,’’ he revealed.
It was in August 2021 when Vedaant created a big splash in the junior national championship in Bengaluru, ending up with a seven-medal haul across a gamut of disciplines - from long distance to relays. Vedaant won silver medals in 800 metres freestyle, 1500m freestyle, 4×100 freestyle relay and 4×200 freestyle relay, finishing with bronze medals in 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle and 400m freestyle events,
While the news of Madhavan’s son striking it rich in junior nationals sounded an appealing one for the swimming writers, how does Vedaant plan to narrow down on his disciplines in the coming years? ‘‘It’s still too early to narrow down the events as I am only 16, so I still have a few more years to do that. I can manage both long and short distance but yes, over the next few months, I should be able to decide on what I want to do,’’ said a clear-thinking Vedaant.
Things are changing now. Tokyo was the first time when an Indian swimmer could make the A cut-off timing with Sajan and it was followed by Srihari on the same day - so it was huge for Indian sport. Since then, Sajan is making semi-finals, finals so we are progressing in the sport. I have the self-belief that we will get there..
With India’s swimming exploits in the international arena not much to write home about, one was intrigued to find out what made young Vedaant choose the sport as a vocation. ‘‘Things are changing now. Tokyo was the first time when an Indian swimmer could make the A cut-off timing with Sajan and it was followed by Srihari on the same day - so it was huge for Indian sport. Since then, Sajan is making semi-finals, finals so we are progressing in the sport. I have the self-belief that we will get there,’’ said Vedaant, who is enoromouly inspired by David Popovici, swimming’s next big thing from Romania.
The precociously talented Popovici broke the world junior record in the 100 metres freestyle when 16 and the European junior record in the 200 m freestyle at 17 years and qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. ‘‘I can’t say he is an idol but I get inspired by him. He is just one year older than me, but he is outstanding - it’s really amazing as to how he stretches in the water, the kind of grip that he has and how fast he goes - he has already done 2020 Olympics and came fourth. I want to be like him and want to beat him,’’ Vedaant says with a glint in his eye.
While his preparations are going on smoothly, Vedaant admits that the pandemic has been putting a spanner in the works in terms of his competitive exposure. ‘‘I went to Latvian Open last year, but a number of competitions got cancelled as well. Hence, I bank a lot on the frequent competitions in Dubai - say every two months,’’ he said.
No conversation with Madhavan’s son can be complete without a reference to his famous dad - and Vedaant is candid in admitting that he looks up to the actor as an inspiration. ‘‘He inspires me a lot. I have seen from close quarters as to show passionate he is in his work and puts his 100% mind and soul into it. I enjoy following him and the process that he follows and want to emulate him,’’ he signed off.
