Until a badminton-crazy uncle took them along to the Dubai World Superseries Finals nine years ago, Dhiren and Dev Ayyappan had no idea what the sport was all about. Growing up in Dubai, which was far removed from the currents of international badminton a decade ago, the twins were into cricket.
It all changed in 2015, when the season finale returned to the desert city for its second edition. With the elite of the badminton world assembled in Dubai, it offered a rare chance to audiences to watch the very best at close quarters.
Now, nine years since their first tryst with the sport, the brothers are among the prominent faces of the first batch of UAE internationals, and among the few twins in international badminton. Having acquitted themselves well on the junior circuit, the twins are looking to push on at the senior level; whatever gains they make will reflect well on the growth of UAE badminton.
The Ayyappan brothers, Dev (left) and Dhiren
Last week, at the ISF (International School Sport Federation) Gymnasiade 2024 in Bahrain, they won the men’s doubles – the field included pairs from China, Chinese Taipei and India.
This was at the end of an eventful October, during which UAE had done well at the BWF World Junior Championships 2024 in Nanchang, finishing 11th in the mixed team event, with the brothers playing a pivotal role.
On court, the brothers say they have the instinctive understanding that all twins seem to have – the ability to communicate without words.
“We don’t discuss during points,” says Dhiren, who has also had success in mixed doubles with Taabia Khan. “We talk only of the first two-three shots. During the rally, he’ll know where I’m going, and I know where he’s going. I don’t need to tell him all these things. It helps us. I always know what he’s going to do, or at least that he’s taking one of two options. So I adjust according to that.”
Off court, however, they are quite different. Dev has chosen a career in medicine, while Dhiren plans to get into accounting. There are few current players at the elite level, if any, who are pursuing medicine, but Dev, who is in his first year at Gulf Medical University, is confident he can juggle the demands of his studies with help from his university and the UAE federation. Still, the choice is unusual.
The brothers at the Badminton Asia Championships 2023
“My mom and family are in healthcare and they know that world,” says Dev. “My mom supported me, she said we’d handle it somehow.
“I don’t need to attend every class. I just need to submit my assignments on time. For my practical assignments I get videos to practice at home. Whenever I’m in UAE, I maximise the classes I get, I try to attend as much as possible. Training wise, I do morning sessions and evening sessions. I choose my classes as per my training. So I get to be in both places.”
“I didn’t have any self-doubt earlier, but after I got into it, I realised this is not a joke, this is a vast topic I’m getting myself into. But my time management has been good, and it’s going well. The university has given me the option of taking a gap year, and focus on (Olympic) qualification and after that if I want to I can join the same programme.”
Elite players however are not known to choose demanding degrees due to the time and intensity required, and Dev concedes that his brother’s choice is more in line with that.
“My brother’s like a 20 per cent degree kind of person, and 80 per cent badminton. That’s his mindset. He doesn’t want to do anything apart from badminton for now. He wants to pursue badminton. For me, I always thought of a back-up. So that’s why I took up medicine.”
His brother credits the strides they have made to the support from the federation and the country.
“We’re going for this because we’re getting encouragement from the federation. We feel proud to wear the flag.
“It’s just been one and a half years (of international exposure). We started going from International Series and Challengers and then Continentals… we kept gaining experience. Even now we’re not completely there, but then we try with what have.”
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