Photo: Zhizhao Wu/Getty
Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has told Olympic officials that she is fine in a video call after being reportedmissing following sexual assault allegationsshe made against a Chinese government official, according to theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC).
The IOC said in astatementon Sunday that Peng, 35, met with the organization’s President Thomas Bach and two other IOC officials — athletes commission chair Emma Terho and IOC member Li Lingwei, a former vice president of the Chinese Tennis Association — during which she addressed her safety. It is unclear when exactly the call took place.
Speaking to the trio in a 30-minute video call, Peng “thanked the IOC for its concern about her well-being” and “explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time,” the organization said.
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“I was relieved to see that Peng Shuai was doing fine, which was our main concern. She appeared to be relaxed,” said Terho. “I offered her our support and to stay in touch at any time of her convenience, which she obviously appreciated.”
Peng’s video call appearance with the IOC came shortly after the tennis star was spotted on two occasions in public over the weekend,CNNreported. Peng appeared withfriends at a dinneron Saturday, before she attended achildren’s tennis tournamentthe following day.
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In a statement, theWomen’s Tennis Association (WTA), which has spoken out about fears for Peng previously, said that they remain concerned for the athlete’s wellbeing, however.
“It was good to see Peng Shuai in recent videos, but they don’t alleviate or address the WTA’s concern about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion,” a spokesperson for the WTA toldESPNin a statement.
“This video does not change our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern,” the organization continued.
The WTA did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Zhizhao Wu/Getty
In a since-deleted post from Nov. 2 on her Weibo microblog, Peng alleged that former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli coerced her into sex several years ago and that she later agreed to a consensual affair with him, according toReuters,The Washington PostandCNN.
The post was deleted about 30 minutes after it was published, CNN and Reuters reported. Screenshots of the post have been circulating on social media.
“The way that this email reads, and I don’t say this lightly, this sounds hyperbolic — but it reads a little bit like a hostage note,” she added, before clarifying, “I’m not saying that necessarily Peng is being held hostage. But the WTA itself has said that they doubt the veracity of, and the origins of this email.”
source: people.com
