India’s senior swimmer Sajan Prakash emphasised the importance of balancing the pursuit of personal best timings with winning medals, stating that while personal milestones reflect an athlete’s progress, medals bring honour to the country on the global stage.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games are set to begin with the Opening Ceremony on July 23 in Glasgow, Scotland. The multi-sport event will run for 11 days across four established venues, concluding on August 2. Swimming competitions will take place from July 24 to July 29.
In a recent interview ahead of the Games, Prakash praised the Sports Authority of India (SAI), remarking that personal best performances and medals complement each other. He said, “Personal best is always knowing that you have progressed. In training, a lot of times, that will replicate in the competition. And medals are very important for the country to glorify its name on the world stage. So goes hand in hand.”
The 32-year-old Olympian also discussed the responsibility of representing India as one of the country’s senior swimmers before the Commonwealth Games. He noted that this responsibility remains constant regardless of seniority, although experience brings added accountability. He explained, “I’ve always been responsible when you represent the country, irrespective of whether I’m senior or not. But definitely yes, I should know what to talk, when to talk and how to talk to the media and to everyone else. That is one. And the performance I need to be on point on the day of the race because there are many things which can spoil that, but I need to be much more prepared months before and days before. So definitely yes, I have the weight on my shoulders to take it forward.”
For context, Prakash made history for Indian swimming by becoming the country’s first swimmer to secure direct Olympic qualification through the qualifying standard, as noted by Olympics.com. He earned his spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after a historic performance in the men’s 200m butterfly at the 2021 Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, clocking 1:56.38. This time set a new national record and was below the Olympic Qualification Time (OQT) of 1:56.48, thereby granting him a direct Olympic berth.
This achievement was a landmark moment for Indian swimming, as no Indian swimmer had previously qualified for the Olympics by meeting the OQT. Tokyo 2020 was Prakash’s second Olympic appearance after his debut at the Rio 2016 Games. While his participation in Rio was via the universality quota, his Tokyo qualification was earned on merit by meeting the Olympic qualifying standard, making him the first Indian swimmer to do so.
At the Tokyo Olympics, he also became the first Indian swimmer to compete in two editions of the Olympic Games, further establishing his place in Indian swimming history.