Badminton women’s doubles star on her vegan diet and why China is so close to her heart
Australian Gronya Somerville might wear the yellow Aussie T-shirt when winning titles, but has a Chinese father and is a descendant of a prominent Chinese scholar
I meet Gronya Somerville for lunch on a polluted Monday near the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Her face lights up as she browses through the restaurant’s rather inventive menu. We go for “lamb skewers” (except they are made of mushrooms) and “grilled salmon” made of tofu with a crust of seaweed.
She had clearly anticipated my first question about her lifestyle. “Both my coach and my doctor were very supportive when I decided to become a vegetarian, or rather 90 per cent vegan,” she says. “There are so many myths surrounding veganism. People are especially concerned about protein but there are plenty of sources of both protein and all other necessary nutrients available to vegans.”
Somerville, ranked 36th in the world in women’s doubles badminton with partner Setyana Mapasa, is in Beijing for a week of training. She is thrilled to have been given the opportunity to train with the Chinese national badminton team and has also managed to squeeze in meetings and a gala hosted by her sponsor, sporting goods company Li-Ning.
“I am extremely proud of my Chinese heritage,” she says as she shows me pictures from the evening before. She was invited by the national TV broadcaster CCTV to film a speech about her great-great-grandfather as well as her badminton career.
“I managed to read the first page of the speech in Chinese and it felt great,” she says and smiles at her Chinese teacher, Chloe, seated next to her.