Sajan Prakash Leads 12-Member Men’s Swimming Squad for Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games

India has named a 12-member men’s swimming squad for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, with the contingent set to compete across butterfly, backstroke, freestyle and breaststroke events along with three relay competitions.

The squad combines established international swimmers with a younger group that will be looking to make a mark at one of Asia’s biggest sporting events. Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj bring major multi-sport experience, while swimmers such as Vedaant Madhavan, Aryan Nehra, Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda and Dhakshan Shashikumar add depth across the freestyle events.

The Indian team will have representation across individual sprint, middle-distance and distance races, while also fielding teams in the men’s 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle and 4x100m medley relays.

The 2026 Asian Games campaign comes after a difficult outing for Indian swimming at Hangzhou 2022, where the team reached several finals but returned without a medal. Aichi-Nagoya presents another opportunity to convert competitive performances into stronger final finishes.

Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj lead an experienced group.

Sajan Prakash remains one of the most experienced swimmers in the Indian squad. He has been selected for the men’s 100m butterfly and 200m butterfly events. At the previous Asian Games, Sajan reached the final of the 200m butterfly and finished fifth. He clocked 1:57.44 in the final after progressing through the heats, producing one of India's better individual finishes in the swimming competition.

Srihari Nataraj has been named for the men’s 50m backstroke. His experience at major international competitions will be valuable for the squad. At Hangzhou, Srihari competed across multiple events, reaching the final of the 50m backstroke and finishing sixth. He also made the 200m backstroke final, where he finished seventh, and was part of India’s relay teams.

The two experienced swimmers will once again be important figures as India attempts to improve its standing in Asian swimming.

Vedaant Madhavan has been selected for three events: the men’s 200m backstroke, 200m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay. The 200m freestyle and 4x200m relay will provide him with opportunities to contribute in both individual and team competition. India's middle-distance freestyle group has considerable depth, with Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda also selected for the 200m freestyle and 400m freestyle, in addition to the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays.

Dhakshan Shashikumar will compete in the 400m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle relay, further strengthening India's options in the longer relay. The combination of Vedaant, Aneesh and Dhakshan gives India a core group of swimmers who could play an important role across multiple events.

Aryan Nehra leads distance challenge

Aryan Nehra will compete in the men's 800m and 1500m freestyle events. Distance freestyle requires a different tactical approach from sprint events, with swimmers needing to manage pace over long races while remaining competitive through the final stages.

At Hangzhou 2022, Aryan reached the finals in both events. He finished seventh in the 800m freestyle and seventh in the 1500m freestyle, underlining his ability to compete in major championship finals. His experience from the previous Asian Games could be important as he returns for another continental campaign.

India have selected teams for three relay events, with several swimmers featuring across multiple combinations. The men’s 4x100m freestyle relay pool includes Benediction Rohit Beniston Manickaraj, Akash Mani, Heer Gitesh Shah and Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda.

The 4x200m freestyle relay will feature Vedaant Madhavan, Dhakshan Shashikumar and Aneesh, with the final team combination to be formed from the selected squad. The men’s 4x100m medley relay will include Benedicton Rohit, Rishabh Das, Akash Mani and Danush Suresh as part of India's options across the four strokes. Relays offer India an opportunity to maximise squad depth. At Hangzhou, the men's 4x100m medley relay reached the final and finished fifth, while the 4x100m freestyle relay finished sixth and the 4x200m freestyle relay finished seventh.

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Those performances showed that India could reach championship finals as a team. The next step will be to close the gap on Asia's leading swimming nations.

Rishabh Das will compete in the 50m and 100m backstroke, while Utkarsh Santosh Patil has been selected for the 100m and 200m backstroke. Benedicton Rohit has a packed programme, competing in the 50m and 100m butterfly, 100m freestyle and two relay events. Akash Mani will contest the 50m and 100m freestyle alongside his relay commitments, while Heer Gitesh Shah has been selected for the 50m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle relay.

Danush Suresh will compete in the 50m and 100m breaststroke and could also play a crucial role in the medley relay. The breadth of the squad reflects India's effort to cover multiple disciplines rather than relying on a small number of individual events.

Aiming to turn finals into medals

The challenge for Indian swimming at the Asian Games remains significant. Asian swimming features some of the world's strongest athletes, with China and Japan traditionally setting extremely high standards.

However, India's results in Hangzhou showed that reaching finals is possible across individual and relay events. For Aichi-Nagoya 2026, the objective will be to go a step further. Sajan Prakash, Srihari Nataraj and Aryan Nehra bring valuable experience from the previous edition, while Vedaant Madhavan and the younger members of the squad represent the next generation of Indian swimming.

With 12 swimmers covering a wide programme, India will look to produce stronger performances in the heats, qualify for more finals and challenge for the country's first swimming medal at the 2026 Asian Games.

India will compete in the men’s 50m freestyle through Akash Mani and Heer Gitesh Shah, while Benediction Rohit Beniston Manickaraj and Akash Mani will race in the 100m freestyle. Vedaant Madhavan and Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda will compete in the 200m freestyle, with Dhakshan Shashikumar and Aneesh entering the 400m freestyle. Aryan Nehra will take part in both the 800m and 1500m freestyle. 

In backstroke, Rishabh Das and Srihari Nataraj will contest the 50m, Rishabh and Utkarsh Santosh Patil the 100m, and Vedaant and Utkarsh the 200m. Danush Suresh will compete in the 50m and 100m breaststroke. Benediction will race in the 50m butterfly, while he and Sajan Prakash will contest the 100m butterfly, with Sajan also competing in the 200m butterfly. India will also field teams in the 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle and 4x100m medley relays.

India’s 12-member men’s swimming squad for the 2026 Asian Games: Benedicton Rohit, Rohit Beniston Manickaraj, Rishabh Das, Vedaant Madhavan, Akash Mani, Srihari Nataraj, Aryan Nehra, Utkarsh Santosh Patil, Sajan Prakash, Heer Gitesh Shah, Dhakshan Shashikumar, Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda and Danush Suresh.