Joël Abati is a handball player who has competed for France. He competed at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
He was the third-oldest member of the French handball team at the Olympic Games in 2004, just behind Jackson Richardson and Gregory Anquetil, making his Olympic debut at the age of 33. Playing in all eight matches during the tournament, he scored 17 goals, of which seven in the group stage matches against Brazil (2), Hungary (2), Egypt (2), and Germany (1). With five wins, France topped group B in the group stage, setting up a quarterfinal against the number four of group A: Russia. Despite six goals from Abati, France took the short end of the stick and lost the match by a two-goal difference, leaving the favorite French team without medals. They got back to the winning mood with wins against Spain and Greece, in which Abati scored once and three times, respectively, which placed them fifth on the final ranking.
Four years later, he was once again selected for the national handball team when they competed at the Olympic Games in Beijing, and now he returned as the oldest member of the team. His position on the field had changed from a rightwing player to a right back player, which also meant his offensive contribution to the team was a bit less: throughout the tournament, he only scored eight goals this time, of which four goals in the group stage match against China and two goals in the drawn match against Poland. In the final phase of the tournament, he did not play in the quarterfinal against Russia in a rematch of 2004, though this time the French team was able to stand high, and he also was left out of the field during the semifinal match against Croatia. He made a last appearance in Olympic competition in the final minutes of the final against Iceland, in which he scored the last French goal in a 28 - 23 win to clinch the first-ever French title in Olympic handball.
Olympic Results[]
| Year | Event | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Men's handball | 5th |
| 2008 | Men's handball | 
|
2004[]
| Stage | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage | Brazil | 31 - 17 |
| Greece | 29 - 25 | |
| Hungary | 26 - 23 | |
| Egypt | 22 - 21 | |
| Germany | 27 - 22 | |
| Quarterfinal | Russia | 24 - 26 |
| 5th - 8th place | Spain | 29 - 28 |
| 5th place | Greece | 33 - 15 |
2008[]
| Stage | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage | Brazil | 34 - 26 |
| China | 33 - 19 | |
| Croatia | 23 - 19 | |
| Spain | 28 - 21 | |
| Poland | 30 - 30 | |
| Quarterfinal | Russia | 27 - 24 |
| Semifinal | Croatia | 25 - 23 |
| Final | Iceland | 28 - 23 |