New Delhi: For Tejas Nandakumar, India’s record holder in the Men’s S7 100m backstroke, the past 24 hours have been a whirlwind of disbelief.The 20-year-old from Bengaluru was scheduled to compete in the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, starting on July 23, and everything was looking up at that time. Courses, eligibility periods, visa documents, even the measurements of his traditional equipment, were all finalized. When the official list of participants was released on Friday, his name was on it. 24 hours later, everything fell apart. Tejas had qualified for the Men’s 50m Freestyle S7, and his place had already been confirmed. But on Saturday morning, he was told that he had been ruled disqualified, not because of anything about his swimming, but because of his condition.Its current name, Review-2025, does not meet the requirements for a definitive or closed date of 2027 or later.“I am very disappointed. It has nothing to do with my swimming, my fitness, or my work,” he told TimesofIndia.com during an exclusive interaction. “It was technology that had expired.”The classification determines how athletes are selected according to their performance and the extent of their damage, ensuring fair competition in the sport.“Review 2025” meant that the international athletes confirmed that its sports team could change and should be reviewed before or during 2025. In contrast, the group “Confirmed” indicates that the sports team of athletes is considered stable and should not change.Under the qualifying rules for the Commonwealth Games, athletes must have a confirmed team or have a review date set for 2027 or later to ensure stability. Because Tejas’ evaluation was scheduled for 2025, he was deemed ineligible even though he was eligible.
Could this have been avoided?“Possibly. But the process of monitoring and documentation that is required to close to exist was not done in time,” he added.His rejection was particularly painful as he had spent the last 18 months chasing club opportunities in three countries. He competed in Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​Paris and Australia, although he only paid for one trip, in order to gain the opportunity he needed in Glasgow.One of those efforts came at a cost. Tejas reportedly paid for his own trip to Paris, hoping it would help secure the squad needed to remain relevant in Glasgow. But they couldn’t find the group window they needed to review. Finding it difficult to compete in the Commonwealth Games, he tried again, funding the March 2026 Games in Fuji-Shizuoka, Japan. The attempt failed again, as he never got a chance and eventually left.“To be honest, I’m a bit dirty,” he admitted. “You pour your life into representing your country, and to shoot for a real medal removed from technology without going into the pool is a heavy pill.”They believe that the Indian sports bodies, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) among them, have the power and opportunity to close this gap before taking another athlete to the podium, especially with the Asian Paralympic Games and the Paralympics around the corner.“PCI was in my corner and tried to help,” he told this site. “From what I understand of the process, it came down to a very important management issue; if it had been pushed sooner, the group window would have been protected. I don’t want to point fingers directly or cause controversy.”
‘It’s very difficult to get a slot’: PCI
When asked if the governing body is trying to intervene, Virender Kumar Dabas, Para-Swimming Chairman of the Paralympic Committee of India, told TimesofIndia.com: “No, pushing things is not working here. He should have put himself in a group. He was supposed to be drafted again in 2025. He has to be very careful, and he is reminded again and again.While admitting that Tejas went to events in Paris and Australia to miss out due to the huge backlog, Dabas said,
“The division of the division is suitable for World Para Swimming. Especially in Europe, it is very difficult to get a division… because there is a rush, there is a lot of waiting. He went to Paris, he did not find a group. It’s very unfortunate.”Dabas stressed that the PCI has no say in the Commonwealth Games selection process and denied any political involvement.“We do not choose the athletes. The selection comes from the top, from the international organization. If there was another problem with the documents, that would have been confirmed, fixed,” he added.Dabas confirmed that the result was certain, albeit tragic, that the athlete had been warned about.“He is a good boy, but he has been unfortunate. What to do? We told him before that even though his name has come from the World Para Swimming through the IOA, the chances are small,” he said. “They were informed about this. Because after checking one by one, they found that they are not eligible to participate in 2026.”
‘I hold my head high’: Tejas Nandakumar
In order to avoid the same in the future, Nandakumar has asked for a dedicated fund separate from the budgets of the “Foreign Exposure” competition, as the current policy only covers one international meeting per year, along with a system that identifies and prioritizes athletes with medals to get team opportunities in advance, along with two to three-year-old athletes preparing for major swimming competitions.“They should give priority to top swimmers,” Nandakumar said. “I just hope it brings the long-term focus of the administration to prevent someone else from having to experience something like this.”Meanwhile, Tejas insists that this return does not define him. “I’m keeping my head up. I’m not going to let this define me,” he concluded. “My focus changes immediately, and my eyes are closed on preparing and sending India to the upcoming Asian Para Games.”
