Indian archers face accommodation and nutrition issues after arriving at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan

Vedant Madhavan, the son of famous actor Ra Madhavan, prefers to stay away from public attention and the glamour of show business. He does not intend to follow in his father's footsteps in acting, as he is an Indian athlete.

Vedant Madhavan is a swimmer who will represent India at the 2026 Asian Games. During the coronavirus pandemic, Ra Madhavan moved with his family to Dubai so that his son could receive higher quality training for his developing swimming career. Now, five years later, Vedant is fully prepared to participate in his biggest competitive event—the 2026 Asian Games, which will take place in Japan at the end of the month.

In an interview with the news agency, Vedant emphasized that he is unconcerned about public attention. He stated that as a swimmer, his main goal is to achieve the best result for himself and for his country. He noted that audience attention depends solely on the quality of his performance.

'If you aim to reach the stars, you will at least reach the Moon,' — Vedant Madhavan relies on this principle before participating in the Asian Games. He believes that to achieve success in life, one must completely believe in oneself, being convinced that victory will be achieved regardless of circumstances.

Vedant also shared that he knows how to handle pressure, as it was part of the training process for the Asian Games. He admitted that the burden of expectations and pressure is always present, considering they live in a country with a population of about 140 million people, and everyone is watching him. However, he added that although his identity (being Ra Madhavan's son) might create additional pressure, he does not think about it. He has been trained in such a way that pressure does not have a dominant influence on him; when he is in the pool, he focuses only on himself and the water.

Significant changes have been made to the Indian squad participating in the 2026 Asian Games. The men's selection committee has formed a team of 15 players, which includes the young batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Meanwhile, star all-rounder Hardik Pandya could not make this list.

Shreyas Iyer will lead the team, and Tilak Verma has been appointed as vice-captain. Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan will take charge of the wicket-keeping positions.

For Vaibhav Suryavanshi, this is another big opportunity as he is included in the 15-man squad for the Asian Games. Furthermore, he has been selected to participate in the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. Thus, the selectors continue to show confidence in the young Vaibhav by giving him a chance to demonstrate his skills in a major international cricket tournament at the Asian Games.

Hardik Pandya's name is absent from the squad selected for the Asian Games. Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akshar Patel, and Washington Sundar have been included as all-rounders. Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Yash Thakur will head the bowling unit. Additionally, Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi will strengthen the spin department.

The selection committee also provided an important update regarding Harshit Rana. Although Harshit Rana successfully recovered during rehabilitation, he sustained a rectus femoris strain while bowling during the September 7 training match. Due to this injury, he has been excluded from both the T20I series against Afghanistan and the Asian Games. His place was taken by fast bowler Yash Thakur from Vidwarha.

27-year-old Yash Thakur recently debuted in T20I during India's tour in Zimbabwe. He played two matches and took four wickets. His home T20 statistics are also impressive: he took 114 wickets in 76 T20 matches at an average pace of 8.20. Now Yash faces two major opportunities: he will be part of the Indian team in the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, and then he will be available for the Asian Games.

The squad for the series against Afghanistan has also changed. The updated squad for the three T20I matches against Afghanistan consists of 15 players. Shreyas Iyer is the captain, and Tilak Verma is the vice-captain. The team includes Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akshar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Yash Thakur.

The squad for the Asian Games also selected 15 players, including Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Yash Thakur. The Indian squad for the 2026 Asian Games includes Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Tilak Verma (vice-captain), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akshar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and Yash Thakur.

In a statement released by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, information was provided about Harshit Rana's injury and the inclusion of Yash Thakur as his replacement.

It should be noted that the Asian Games will take place from September 19 to October 4, where the Indian team will play in the quarterfinals on September 28. The T20 series against Afghanistan starts on September 13; the other two matches are scheduled for September 15 and 17. All matches of the series against Afghanistan will be held at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.