There is a lot of chemistry between Álvaro Robles and María Xiao. So much so that, when they answer the question of what each one contributes to the duo, they do it at the same time. “We don’t complement well,” he summarizes after a more thorough analysis. “I believe that I am tranquility. He is more nervous. At least, in the games,” says María. And Álvaro, who is “more ambitious,” she agrees. “I try to get him to catch it,” adds the Huelva native in conversation with AS, at the CAR in Madrid. In a month, they will represent Spanish table tennis at the Paris Games. In Tokyo, they were already in the individual draw; Now, after traveling the entire world, they will repeat and, in addition, they will be the first national couple in mixed doubles. As sixth in the world ranking, the medal “is not impossible.”
“We will have to play a doubles against Nadal and Alcaraz… in table tennis”
Their level and understanding can be understood when reviewing their Olympic cycle, as successful as it was demanding. When they start listing the countries in which they have competed in recent years, they don’t finish. “Peru, Brazil, Slovenia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, India, Qatar, Croatia, Poland…”, they leave in the air. The international circuit is vast in itself; They, furthermore, have wanted to be everywhere. “There are tournaments all over the world and we have competed in all of them. The rivals were going all out and you can’t be left behind,” they justify. As a couple, they certified their place in the Havirov Olympic Qualifiers (Czech Republic) in Aprilafter adding his first two titles, in Otocec (Slovenia) and Lima (Peru). At an individual level, their results have also been promising. Álvaro reached the finals in Havirov and Mendoza (Argentina) and María premiered her international record in Biella (Italy).
For all this, they allow themselves to dream. “We are ambitious because our level of competitiveness has been good. We have proven it. That makes us go with high expectations if things turn out from the draw. There are couples that suit us better and couples that suit us worse,” they analyze. Among all the pairs, there is only one unattainable: Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, from China. The rest, “you can get your hands on them.” “Against the second couple in the ranking (Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin, from Korea)For example, we have lost eight times, but we have beaten them once. We know that if we play very, very, very well we are at that level. It’s not the same as never having beaten them. That gives us that hope to think that, on one of our good days and with the pressure that they are going to feel, it is possible,” they are excited.
Between Murcia and Germany
The kilometers that Xiao and Ribles have accumulated over these years are not only due to tournaments. María, of Chinese parents, born in Calella (Barcelona) and raised in Portugal until she was 17, lives in Murcia; Álvaro, for her part, does it in Germany. The man from Huelva started playing in the Bundesliga when he was 21 years old; For two years now, and with a growing family, he has settled permanently in the German country, where he promoted his career. “Yes, you can make a living from table tennis,” he anticipates before recounting his experience. “This topic is very unknown, but we are lucky to have professional leagues. We don’t depend only on European and World Cups, as happens in other sports. They sign us and we have our salaries,” he explains.
Given this geographical location, Álvaro and María have been meeting at training camps in Granada, Madrid and Germany, as well as making the most of tournaments around the world. “You get a lot of information from competition, but over the last two years we wanted to train together as much as we could. It has made a difference,” Robles reveals. “And, even though we are not together, we think about the mixed one. When I train alone in Murcia, I also focus on how to improve it,” Xiao completes. From the beginning of the cycle, achieving doubles classification was the main objective, with a team at their disposal. In the absence of icing, it has borne fruit. In Paris, Nadal-Alcaraz will not be the only exciting couple. “We’ll have to play doubles against them… in table tennis,” María says, laughing. “I hope we come back with a photo of the four of us with medals,” wishes Álvaro. Rackets and rackets to dream.
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