Gronya Somerville (born 10 May 1995) is an Australian badminton player specializing in doubles.[2] She has won nine Oceania Championships titles, six in the women's doubles and three in the mixed doubles.
Personal life
Somerville, born to an Australian mother of Anglo-Celtic origin and a Chinese father, became famous when it was revealed that she is the descendant of a prominent Qing dynasty political reformer, Kang Youwei.[3] She is studying exercise science at Victoria University.[4][when?]
Career
Somerville's skills were discovered during a badminton talent identification program which she attended after receiving a flyer from her primary school PE teacher when she was about 12 or 13.[5][6] Born in Melbourne in 1995, Somerville first captured the media's attention as a young player in 2012 at the Uber Cup in China.[3]
She won gold medals at the 2014 Oceania Badminton Championships in women's doubles and mixed team events. Her current partners are Setyana Mapasa in women's doubles and Simon Leung in mixed doubles. She represented her country at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.[7] Together with Mapasa, they managed to win Australia's first ever Grand Prix title in 2016, after winning the Canada Open.[8] They also won the Dutch Open in the same year.[9] In 2017, she and Mapasa won the women's doubles title at the Oceania Championships, and a silver in the mixed doubles event partnered with Joel Findlay.[10]
She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the women's and mixed doubles but was eliminated in the group stage in both events.[11]
Achievements
Oceania Championships
Women's doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Ken Kay Badminton Hall, Ballarat, Australia |  Jacqueline Guan
|
Jacinta Joe Louisa Ma
|
21–14, 21–17 |  Gold
|
| 2015 | X-TRM North Harbour Badminton Centre, Auckland, New Zealand | Leanne Choo
|
Talia Saunders Jennifer Tam
|
21–14, 21–11 | Gold
|
| 2016 | Punaauia University Hall, Papeete, Tahiti | Melinda Sun
|
Tiffany Ho Jennifer Tam
|
17–21, 21–19, 20–22 |  Silver
|
| 2017 | Salle Anewy, Nouméa, New Caledonia | Setyana Mapasa
|
Tiffany Ho Joy Lai
|
16–21, 21–18, 21–14 | Gold
|
| 2018 | Eastlink Badminton Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand | Setyana Mapasa
|
Leanne Choo Renuga Veeran
|
21–14, 22–20 | Gold
|
| 2019 | Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, Melbourne, Australia | Setyana Mapasa
|
Yingzi Jiang Louisa Ma
|
21–10, 21–9 | Gold
|
| 2020 | Ken Kay Badminton Stadium, Ballarat, Australia | Setyana Mapasa
|
 Sally Fu Alyssa Tagle
|
21–9, 21–10 | Gold
|
| 2022 | Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, Melbourne, Australia | Kaitlyn Ea
|
Joyce Choong Sylvina Kurniawan
|
19–21, 15–21 | Silver
|
| 2023 | Auckland Badminton Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | Joyce Choong
|
Sylvina Kurniawan Setyana Mapasa
|
19–21, 11–21 |  Bronze
|
| 2024 | Leisuretime Sports Precinct, Geelong, Australia | Kaitlyn Ea
|
Setyana Mapasa Angela Yu
|
18–21, 11–21 | Silver
|
| 2025 | Badminton North Harbour Centre, Auckland, New Zealand | Angela Yu
|
Mimi Ngo Maureen Clarissa Wijaya
|
21–10, 21–12 | Gold
|
Mixed doubles
| Year | Venue | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Ken Kay Badminton Hall, Ballarat, Australia | Ross Smith
|
Glenn Warfe Leanne Choo
|
11–21, 17–21 | Bronze
|
| 2014 | Ken Kay Badminton Hall, Ballarat, Australia | Raymond Tam
|
Oliver Leydon-Davis Susannah Leydon-Davis
|
19–21, 19–21 | Bronze
|
| 2015 | X-TRM North Harbour Badminton Centre, Auckland, New Zealand | Matthew Chau
|
Oliver Leydon-Davis Danielle Tahuri
|
15–21, 21–19, 14–21 | Bronze
|
| 2017 | Salle Anewy, Nouméa, New Caledonia | Joel Findlay
|
Sawan Serasinghe Setyana Mapasa
|
19–21, 9–21 | Silver
|
| 2019 | Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, Melbourne, Australia | Simon Leung
|
Sawan Serasinghe Khoo Lee Yen
|
21–18, 21–15 | Gold
|
| 2020 | Ken Kay Badminton Stadium, Ballarat, Australia | Simon Leung
|
Pham Tran Hoang Sylvina Kurniawan
|
21–12, 21–8 | Gold
|
| 2022 | Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, Melbourne, Australia | Kenneth Choo
|
Oliver Leydon-Davis Anona Pak
|
21–18, 19–21, 21–12 | Gold
|
| 2023 | Auckland Badminton Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand | Kenneth Choo
|
Lim Ming Chuen Sylvina Kurniawan
|
21–12, 21–16 | Gold
|
| 2024 | Leisuretime Sports Precinct, Geelong, Australia | Kenneth Choo
|
Edward Lau Shaunna Li
|
21–11, 25–27, 21–14 | Gold
|
| 2025 | Badminton North Harbour Centre, Auckland, New Zealand | Vincent Tao
|
Edward Lau Shaunna Li
|
21–19, 14–21, 21–18 | Gold
|
BWF World Tour (1 title)
The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[12] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[13]
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Level | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Canada Open | Super 100 | Setyana Mapasa
|
 Chang Ye-na Kim Hye-rin
|
21–16, 21–14 |  Winner
|
BWF Grand Prix (2 titles)
The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Canada Open | Setyana Mapasa
|
 Heather Olver Lauren Smith
|
21–15, 21–16 | Winner
|
| 2016 | Dutch Open | Setyana Mapasa
|
 Gabriela Stoeva Stefani Stoeva
|
17–21, 21–17, 21–16 | Winner
|
- BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
- BWF Grand Prix tournament
BWF International Challenge/Series (9 titles, 14 runners-up)
Women's doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Auckland International | Leanne Choo
|
 Chang Ching-hui Chang Hsin-tien
|
11–6, 8–11, 10–11, 9–11 |  Runner-up
|
| 2015 | Waikato International | Setyana Mapasa
|
Ruwindi Serasinghe Alice Wu
|
21–13, 21–10 | Winner
|
| 2015 | Auckland International | Setyana Mapasa
|
Pan Tzu-chin Tsai Hsin-yu
|
21–9, 21–5 | Winner
|
| 2015 | Maribyrnong International | Setyana Mapasa
|
Chen Hsuan-yu Shu Yu-lin
|
20–22, 17–21, 21–18 | Winner
|
| 2015 | Sydney International | Setyana Mapasa
|
 Jongkolphan Kititharakul Rawinda Prajongjai
|
13–21, 5–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2015 | Norwegian International | Setyana Mapasa
|
 Amanda Madsen Isabella Nielsen
|
21–5, 21–13 | Winner
|
| 2015 | Italian International | Setyana Mapasa
|
Gabriela Stoeva Stefani Stoeva
|
19–21, 21–18, 6–13 retired | Runner-up
|
| 2016 | Brazil International | Setyana Mapasa
|
 Chisato Hoshi Naru Shinoya
|
13–21, 19–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2017 | Nouméa International | Setyana Mapasa
|
Tiffany Ho Joy Lai
|
21–11, 21–8 | Winner
|
| 2019 | South Australia International | Setyana Mapasa
|
Rin Iwanaga Kie Nakanishi
|
15–21, 21–19, 9–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2019 | Nepal International | Setyana Mapasa
|
 K. Maneesha Rutaparna Panda
|
21–10, 18–21, 21–11 | Winner
|
| 2019 | Yonex / K&D Graphics International | Setyana Mapasa
|
 Rachel Honderich Kristen Tsai
|
14–21, 21–9, 21–18 | Winner
|
| 2021 | Irish Open | Chen Hsuan-yu
|
 Debora Jille Cheryl Seinen
|
21–15, 14–21, 14–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2022 | North Harbour International | Chen Hsuan-yu
|
Sung Shuo-yun Yu Chien-hui
|
19–21, 17–21 | Runner-up
|
Mixed doubles
| Year | Tournament | Partner | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Auckland International | Raymond Tam
|
Ross Smith Renuga Veeran
|
16–21, 12–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2015 | Waikato International | Matthew Chau
|
Sawan Serasinghe Setyana Mapasa
|
13–21, 17–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2015 | Turkey International | Matthew Chau
|
 Robert Mateusiak Nadieżda Zięba
|
12–21, 13–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2019 | Waikato International | Simon Leung
|
Hiroki Midorikawa Natsu Saito
|
15–21, 13–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2023 | Dutch International | Kenneth Choo
|
Brandon Yap Annie Lado
|
21–18, 23–21 | Winner
|
| 2023 | Mongolia International | Kenneth Choo
|
Tanakorn Meechai Fungfa Korpthammakit
|
22–20, 21–17 | Winner
|
| 2023 | Bendigo International | Kenneth Choo
|
Chen Sheng-fa Lin Jhih-yun
|
21–12, 14–21, 11–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2023 | Sydney International | Kenneth Choo
|
Chen Sheng-fa Lin Jhih-yun
|
18–21, 11–21 | Runner-up
|
| 2024 | Uganda International | Kenneth Choo
|
Sathish Kumar Karunakaran Aadya Variyath
|
20–22, 21–18, 19–21 | Runner-up
|
- BWF International Challenge tournament
- BWF International Series tournament
- BWF Future Series tournament
References
- ^ "Player Info: Gronya Somerville". BadmintonLink. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
- ^ "Players: Gronya Somerville". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ a b Liu, Kiki, ed. (20 May 2015). "Gronya Somerville: Australian Following in Footsteps of Badminton Ace Lin Dan". Women of China. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016.
- ^ Rogers, Andrew (10 April 2016). "East Brunswick badminton player Gronya Somerville chasing her Olympic dream". Moreland Leader. Retrieved 25 March 2017 – via Herald Sun.
- ^ Levy, Megan (5 May 2016). "'Next badminton icon': Australia's Gronya Somerville to take on world's best". The North West Star. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- ^ "Gronya Somerville: Courting success in sport and in life". Australia Plus. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- ^ "Commonwealth Games Team Announced". Badminton Australia. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- ^ "Canada Open 2016 Finals – 1 takes 3rd, 3 take 1st". Badzine. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- ^ "Mapasa and Somerville Win Second GP Title at Dutch Open". Badminton Australia. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- ^ "New Zealand, Australia Dominate Finals". Badminton Oceania. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ^ "Somerville Gronya". Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- ^ Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
- ^ Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
External links
- Gronya Somerville at BWFBadminton.com
- Gronya Somerville at BWF.TournamentSoftware.com (archived, alternate link)
- Gronya Somerville at Olympedia
- Gronya Somerville at Olympics.com
- Gronya Somerville at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (archived)
- Gronya Somerville on Instagram
You must be logged in to post a comment.