At a time women are encouraged to adopt skewed standards of beauty, Tu Mengli from southwest China's Sichuan Province, chose strength – both mentally and physically. The 20-year-old college student has decided to challenge conventional perceptions about how women should look, while sweating her way to success in a sports field that has long been reserved for men: professional bodybuilding.
Tu's commitment to a healthy lifestyle and fit physique paid off last week, as she claimed the title of Junior Women's Bikini Fitness at the 51th Asian Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness Championships (AFBF) Championship.
The success turned Tu into a hotly debated topic on China's Twitter-like Weibo. Netizens were divisive on what to make of her muscular body. As new comers though in the sport, Chinese women are increasingly seen with great potential in recent years. There was unanimous appreciation of the strong discipline and commitment in the course of building such a body.
"I know how Chengdu looks like at 5:30 – every single dawn," said Tu, who wakes up early to start her exercise routine knowing beforehand that a day of muscle ache and soreness awaits her.
The body she has intensely worked to sculpt and perfect was seen by judges as well-proportioned and symmetric, hence she was awarded the title. However, such shape had not always been favored in the realm of bodybuilding.
Tu's coach, Zhao Shiliu, explained that there are currently four focal points to assess a bodybuilder, namely a small head, broad shoulders, slim waist and long legs.
The standards have long evolved from the old appreciation of extremely big muscles at the expense of proportionate measures.
Bodybuilding is not yet a popular sport in China, but getting fit has become a common concern for most youngsters. Reactions online to Tu's success were mixed, but there was agreement in appreciating her hard work.
"As a boy I can't appreciate her beauty, but I respect her pride, and she is indeed amazing," a Weibo user who goes by the name Weimengshequ said.
"This is great! My mother-in-law was a national bodybuilding champion. Even at her fifties, she still coaches in college. No matter how great you are, there will always be people who are not satisfied with you. Keep being yourself!" Sishishishisi noted.
"She is very beautiful and I can't imagine the tears and sweat she had to shed, and all the things she had to give up to get there and become a bikini bodybuilding champion. She probably got dehydrated before going on stage for the muscles to pop up. It is anyone's prerogative not to appreciate this beauty of health and fitness, but she is not (doing what she is doing) to be judged," praised Huiniupigudexulinlin, a student from Tu's college.
Some 233 athletes representing 26 delegations from Asian countries and regions had flocked to Mongolia's Capital Ulaanbaataar to join the May 18-21 event. Tu was part of a 56-strong contingent from China. Of the 36 Chinese competitors, nine bagged gold medal, seven snatched silver and six received bronze medals.
