'He calls me from where he is, motivates me, prays for me': Talented swimmer Vedaant Madhavan on father R Madhavan's support

R Madhavan's son Vedaant Madhavan added a second medal to his kitty - a gold medal in the men's 800m freestyle at the Danish Open in Copenhagen recently. He immediately rushed to his room, after the medal ceremony, and did a video call with his parents. Vedaant's father was elated but couldn't control his emotions after seeing the gold medal around his son's neck. The 16-year-old Vedaant clocked 8:17.28, his personal best, to claim the top honours. He edged past local lad Alexander L Bjorn by 0.10 to clinch the top position on the podium.

Vedaant's gold medal finish was applauded by all and is a great sign for Indian swimming in the long run. Though Vedaant and Indian swimming both still have a long way to go. Swimming is a sport in which Indian swimmers have not managed to establish world domination. Qualifying for the Olympics in itself is seen as a huge achievement. Talented swimmers like Vedaant are the hope for a better, brighter future of Indian swimming overall. USA swimmer Robert Finke won the gold at the Tokyo Olympics in the 800m freestyle event with a timing of 7:41.87. For a quick recap, Vedant's timing, in his gold medal winning swim in the 800m freestyle in the Danish Open was 8:17.28.

At the Tokyo Olympics, a total of 33 swimmers from 28 nations took part in the men's 800m freestyle heats. Vuk Celic of Serbia, who finished 33rd and failed to make it to the finals, clocked 8:04.85. Vedaant and other talented swimmers from India have their task cut out. After a spectacular show at the Danish Open, Vedaant has now set his eyes on Paris 2024 and the Indian swimmer dreams of becoming the first-ever Indian Olympic gold medallist in swimming. TimesofIndia.com caught up with Vedaant in for a special interview to