Home ›› 23 Nov 2021 ›› Sport
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said she was safe and well during a video call with the International Olympic Committee chief Sunday, the organisation said, amid international concern about her well-being after her explosive claims of sexual assault.
At the beginning of a 30-minute call with IOC President Thomas Bach, “Peng Shuai thanked the IOC for its concern about her well-being,” the organisation said in a statement.
“She explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time,” it said.
“That is why she prefers to spend her time with friends and family right now. Nevertheless, she will continue to be involved in tennis, the sport she loves so much.”
Earlier Sunday, Peng was seen attending a Beijing tennis tournament, in official photos of the event, marking her first public appearance since she made her accusations against former vice premier Zhang Gaoli, and they were scrubbed from the Chinese internet.
The 35-year-old two-time Grand Slam doubles champion alleged earlier this month that Gaoli, now in his 70s, forced her into sex during an on-off relationship spanning several years.
Following a global outcry, including from tennis superstars and the United Nations, Chinese state media reporters have released a flurry of footage purporting to show all is well with Peng.
A video from the Fila Kids Junior Tennis Challenger Finals event, tweeted by Global Times newspaper editor Hu Xijin, shows Peng standing in a stadium among a group of guests whose names are announced to a smattering of applause.
A Global Times reporter tweeted another video showing Peng signing autographs for children at what appears to be the same stadium before posing for photos with them.
Hu also posted two other videos on Saturday, the first showing Peng walking into a restaurant wearing a coat, knit cap and face mask, and the second of a maskless Peng sitting at a table chatting with people over a meal.
AFP could not verify the authenticity of the videos.
