Gymnastics: World Championships; Abbadini and the flight of dreams' I've been chasing the barre final for a long time'

There are endings that arrive on the first try and others that you have to chase, wait, build one exercise at a time. The world barre competition, for Yumin Abbadini, definitely belongs to the second category. The Air Force gymnast, who grew up under the guidance of Alberto Busnari at the Via Ovada Academy in Milan, has finally earned a place among the eight best specialists on the planet, qualifying with the eighth score (14.166) at the World Championships in Rotterdam. And that's not all, because the twenty-five-year-old Italian will also be the protagonist of the final of the individual general competition, which he enters from thirteenth position (81.065).

Two important events, two different challenges. On the one hand the technical completeness of a gymnast capable of competing on the six apparatus, on the other the specialty of the heart, the one in which he decided to invest the most, increasing the starting value (5.9) and introducing a spectacular and complex element such as the Pegan.

The path to this first world barre final, however, was not without missed opportunities. «I was first reserve in Antwerp, in 2023, and also at the Paris Olympics.

On those two occasions, to be honest, I wasn't expecting it too much either: already finishing ninth was an unexpected result. But today I can say that I would have really liked to get into the final and the fact that I finally succeeded gives me a lot of satisfaction. After those occasions in which I was unable to qualify, this is a really good feeling."

The barre is a tool that seems to perfectly interpret Abbadini's characteristics: dynamism, courage, technical sensitivity and ability to orientate in space. But above all it is a specialty in which Yumin still sees important margins. «It's probably the tool I like the most, also because I know I can do even better. I believe I can propose an exercise with a higher difficulty and therefore have the possibility of further increasing my level. I would like to focus a lot on the barre, while naturally continuing to work on the general competition. Even on the pommel horse, for example, I have good practice, even if not yet at the level of the bar."

When we talk about its references, the gaze broadens to the great international interpreters of the specialty, of yesterday and today. «There are so many. At the moment I consider the Japanese Maeda Fusuke one of the strongest, even if unfortunately he made a mistake in qualifying. Then there is Tang Chia-Hung of Taipei, provisional second with 14.566 and certainly one of the best, and Colombian Angel Barajas. They are two gymnasts of the highest level, who I will meet in the final together with the Japanese Shohei Kawakami and Shinnosuke Oka, the Australian Jesse Moore, the Russian Sergei Naidin and the Colombian Camilo Vera. I can't wait to compete with them."

Among the models of the past, that of Igor Cassina, Olympic champion in Athens 2004, also emerges, a figure that Abbadini had the opportunity to meet when he was still very young. «Yes, I was very young, but I had the opportunity to meet him. Around 2010 I started going to train in Milan a few days a week and I frequented Meda. I saw Igor there every now and then. He was certainly a source of inspiration."