When twin brothers Daan and Aron Sanders first picked up rubber rackets, they were just eight years old and standing across the table from their experienced table tennis playing father. Now, after many years of hard work and intense competition, the two are holding paddles at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University games as fierce competitors for the Netherlands.
Table tennis was an inherited sport in the Sanders household. Aron and Daan first learned the danger of a sneaky serve when their dad sent the ball sailing across the table with a devious grin plastered on his face; now, they’re on their biggest stage yet, executing high-level serves themselves.
“It’s been a thrilling experience. It’s the first big international experience for me personally and it is quite a big venue, quite a big atmosphere that I experience. I think it’s quite nice, it’s a lot to take in but I’m enjoying it so far,” Daan shared after competing in a men’s team group stage match against Singapore.
The 22-year-old studies engineering in pursuit of a Bachelor’s of Advanced Technology at the University of Twente while his brother is working towards becoming a doctor and studying medicine at Radbound University.
“Daan and I always chose to combine sport and school, so we never really made it to the top of the Netherlands (in table tennis), so this is like a really crazy opportunity just to play against some really good players and so when they asked us to participate, we both really excitedly said yes,” Aron said.
Growing up with a built-in competitor
A twin teammate and a well-loved table at home created the perfect situation for friendly competition and training. From a young age, the Sanders brothers would sharpen their moves against each other as they shaped up for more hostile competition.
“We always play together, you always have some sort of a friend that you can practice with,” Daan said. “It’s always been a teammate, a friend, and always quite a competitive atmosphere that you have with each other.”
Aron echoed the same sentiment, explaining how over the years things have gotten less competitive at home as they’ve worked together to prepare for loftier opponents.
“It’s now more that we want to see the best version of each other instead of winning like when we were younger.”
Still, the two student-athletes—and their father—enjoy many quick matches just for fun. And while the boys often finish their rallies with a tie because they’ve become so accustomed to each other’s tricks, they’ve finally found techniques to beat their dad.
The older Sanders, who once revealed tricky serves with a sly grin, now finds himself on the receiving end of taunting winks as his sons have learned to turn the table on him with unstoppable moves of their own.
Stepping into international competition
Prior to the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU Games, one of Daan’s favourite sporting memories came while he navigated a competition zone, dragging a trolley full of gear beside him. As he explored the event space at the Senior Dutch Championship in Zwolle, an excited young fan looked up at him, and for the first time, he was asked for an autograph. He’d never experienced that kind of interest in his sport before.
Now, just a few years later at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 opening ceremony, he and his brother encountered a completely new level of fan interest.
“You get goose bumps from walking the opening ceremony, to walking in rooms that are quite big, everything is really well done and professional,” Daan said.
“Your hard work for all those years pays off in such a big event. When you walk in the opening ceremony you think ‘wow, this is what I did it for,’” Aron reiterated.
Daan explained the whole Games opportunity as almost other-worldly: “It’s a dream—some sort of dream—because at first, two years ago, I didn’t think I would be competing here. So, when a half year ago we got the message from (coach) Lars (Wildenborg) that said, ‘OK guys I think you can go,’ it was a really big new goal that was met.”
After two days of competition, Daan has already played some tough matches against international opponents, but even in the losses, he is excited to face student-athletes he can learn from.
“Generally, the experience of competing against, for example the Asian guys because I haven’t played them in a long time, it’s quite a new experience. They serve differently, they move differently. It’s totally different than Europe,” Daan said.
The Netherlands’ men’s team lost their group stage team duel against Singapore on Friday, 18 July in three straight matches and have been eliminated from that event. However, Daan will return to competition for the mixed and men’s doubles and the men’s singles event, while Aron will start competing in men’s doubles and men’s singles.
The first table tennis medals of Rhine-Ruhr 2025 will be handed out on Saturday, 19 July in the women’s and men’s team events.
The Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games take place from 16-27 July. Watch all the competitions live on fisu.tv. Click on the link to find the full schedule.
Written by Sarah Maat, FISU Young Reporter, Canada
The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.
We warmly thank FISU Official Partner Qiaodan Ltd. which provides remarkable uniforms to FISU Family and International Technical Officials since 2015. Qiaodan is a valuable partner for FISU as it continued to provide its support during the postponement of events due to the global pandemic, and recently extended the relationship with FISU up to and including 2025.