Appearances, Paul van Rietvelde acknowledges, can be deceptive.

Names, especially so. You can almost sense the weariness when the Scotland international is queried once again about a surname more common in Leiden than Longniddry.

"My great grandfather is Dutch, my grandfather is Belgian and my dad is Irish," the East Lothian native explains of his multi-national heritage. It has not, he regrets, made him a natural polyglot. "I can't speak Dutch. I didn't know my great grandfather. My grandfather spoke Flemish and that was a bit off-putting for me."

The high-speed, quick reaction world of doubles has its own lingua franca, one in which pre-constructed chemistry is meshed with split-second communication in the cause of determining who will strike forth and who will hold back. The art of concealment is also prized.

It is a common theme in van Rietvelde's work. Not only is the 22-year-old preparing for the Commonwealth Games, but he also has a degree to complete, which has involved the forensic study of criminals in a quest to tap into their mental DNA. The reading list, he acknowledges, resembles the scripts of CSI. This is both a personal fascination and a means to decompress.

"I like to have something outside of badminton," says van Rietvelde, now based in Milton Keynes at British Badminton HQ. "It gives you a better perspective on things and makes sure you're not having tunnel vision."

As diversions go, it is hard core, he concedes. "A lot of the studies concern why people are bad, why they do bad things and if they are actually bad."

For most, immersion in their sporting craft is obsession enough. When van Rietvelde relocated initially to Glasgow at the age of 17, jumping on an X-Box never felt like a profitable use of his spare time. His mother, he says, urged him to add another string to his racket.

His research has taken him to drug addiction centres and prisons, a world away from his daily practice routine. He echoes the frequent claim that what is designed to be punishment instead turns into an education in causing chaos.

"I did a thesis on mass incarceration in America and how over the last 30 years it has gone up seven-fold and the reasons behind it and why it hasn't been tackled at the root. You look into why people start doing it originally and you have to always ask more questions.

"I was very lucky in the way I was brought up, but I still do bad things. I try to make them tame but a lot of people haven't been in that fortunate position so I don't see why people shouldn't have a second chance or approach things from a rehabilitation point of view."

In Glasgow in July, he will hope to make opportunity count without the need for later redemption. In the men's doubles, he will team up with Robert Blair. In the mixed, he will likely link up with Jillie Cooper, with both offering more hope of success than in Delhi four years ago when he exited at the quarter-finals.

"I'm definitely going for a medal," he says. "Individually, I believe if I'm functioning fully - and Robert is as well - there's an opportunity for us in the men's doubles. Jillie and I have always performed well together and got on well.

"I know competing at a home Games is always important and gives everyone a boost. So I think we have a good chance."