Pablo Abián, another victim of ‘medallitis’, tiptoes through his fourth Games

Like it or not, it’s the stark reality of Olympic sports. They are of interest every four years, except this time when, due to the pandemic, there have been five. Glory or failure in the Games is marked by hanging a medal, and in those of Tokyo 2020 was not going to be an exception. Logically, if the medal is gold, the better, although the silver and bronze ones are also worth to be covered, to appear on the news or for a radio to contact the relatives of the lucky man or woman. From there, if you are not on the podium, little or no prominence you can expect. At most, a brief acknowledgment of the effort made.

Curiously, it’s written on the occasion of the Rio Games 2016, although it is valid and sounds very current: “The ‘medallitis’, an epidemic that spreads every four years and for which there is no vaccine”. Who was going to tell us that five years later, precisely one more than usual because of him, a pandemic was going to be the protagonist in Tokyo, where they compete thanks to the fact that there is a vaccine. Against the covid, because against the ‘medallitis’ there is still none. What has become of the Olympic spirit summarized in what the Baron de Coubertain What is important to participate in?

Other examples could be given, but there is one that is especially revealing. Mostly because also serves to ponder that successes do not understand gender, as much as it is evident that women’s sport deserves more visibility than it is usually given. This is the case of Pablo Abián, Spanish representative in the Tokyo Games in badminton, a sport that is known thanks to the successes of Carolina Marin, whose absence in Japan due to an injury has meant an incomprehensible news blackout in some media, especially the one that supposes that it looks for the general interest.

As it happened with Clara Azurmendi, who occupied the place of the Huelva to be classified by ‘ranking’ and debuted last Saturday against the Korean An Seyoung, the number eight in the world, for two days later to release victory against the Nigerian AdesokanIt was known that Pablo Abián’s passage through Tokyo was not going to have the same repercussion that Carolina’s would have had. Although that is one thing and quite another that none of the four parties, the two from Donostia and the two from Zaragoza, has been seen live on public television.

Abián, whose greatest international success is a gold in the Baku European Games 2015, has played its fourth Olympic Games in Tokyo, after those of Beijing 2008, in which he finished 33rd, London 2012 (17th) and Rio de Janeiro 2016 (14th). This Wednesday he played the pass to the round of 16 against Chen Long, the current Olympic champion, after overwhelming the Estonian in the first match of his group Ral Must by 21-7 and 21-11, a result even better than that of the sixth-seeded Chinese himself, who did it by 21-10 and 21-9.

Unbeatable in Spain for 15 years

The challenge, obviously, was enormous, but, as Abián warned, he was going to try to make Spain “at the top”. It is true that at first this duel coincided with the soccer match between Spain and Argentina and the handball match of the Hispanics against Brazil. However, as is the custom in badminton, in the end Pablo Abián’s match against Chen Long started late, when both matches had already ended. But it didn’t matter. One more time, badminton could only be seen via Eurosport, and payment.

Just before turning 36 and traveling to Tokyo, the Zaragoza-born double champion of Spain was proclaimed in Cartagena, as he not only won in singles, but also in doubles, with his inseparable partner and also coach, his brother Javier. Pablo accumulates 15 years without knowing the defeat against a Spanish player in the individual modality in official competition. This undefeated condition began to be forged in May 2006 in Manises, where he managed to win the victory after defeating Sergio Llopis in the final already Jose Antonio Crespo in the semifinals.

Precisely Crespo, recently appointed director of the Madrid Technification Center, was the last Spanish player to defeat Abián in an official match. It was in April 2006 at the Grand Prix of Alicante. Since then, no other has been able to end the hegemony of the player of the Recreational IES La Orden. It is true that the successes of Pablo Abián are very far from those of Carolina Marín, hence it has never aroused much interest in the news. But nevertheless, the 17th place in which he has finished the Tokyo Games, coincidentally the same as Clara Azurmendi from San Sebastian, has a lot of merit and both have gone practically unnoticed.

Let’s not forget that badminton is a minority sport in Spain, but with millions of practitioners around the world, something that has always been valued to understand the deeds of Carolina Marín and that it should also serve to appreciate what your peers have done. Who knows, it will be because, as the Andalusian journalist and writer affirms Jesus Benitez, “we live a process of argumentative ‘jibarization’ in pursuit of synthesis, to such an extent that an article begins and ends with its headline“Of course, in the case of TVE, far from synthesizing with badminton, they have directly opted for the blackout …