IOC claims it has kept in touch with Peng Shuai amidst growing unrest at Australian Open 2022


IOC claims it has kept in touch with Peng Shuai amidst growing unrest at Australian Open 2022

Peng Shuai

Former world No. 1 doubles player Peng Shuai was the highlight of the tennis world as she went missing for around three weeks between the months of October and November after a sexual assault claim which retracted as soon as returned.

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The 35-year-old Chinese tennis star and former doubles champion was at the top of the tennis world with 23 career titles and winning significant titles at both Wimbledon and the French Open.

In November, after posting in Weibo about a case of how a former Chinese vice premier sexually assaulted her, the player went missing for around 18 days only to delete her post as soon as she returned to the social community claiming that she had never accused anyone of sexually assaulting her and that she was perfectly safe and okay. Both the accused and the Chinese government remained silent on the topic. This topic has also been censored in China. Multiple videos have been reported showing Peng happily smiling, waving, and signing tennis balls for the children.

IOC’s comment on Peng Shuai’s situation

Former women's doubles No. 1 Peng Shuai.
Former women’s doubles No. 1 Peng Shuai.

The International Olympic Committee informed last week that Peng Shuai would be taking part in the Winter Olympics taking place in Beijing.

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A spokesperson from IOC has mentioned that they have been in contact with Peng Shuai ever since her return and that they have had multiple conversations.

Since the first call that the IOC held with Peng Shuai on 21 November 2021, the IOC team has kept in touch with her and had a number of conversations with her, the last one just the past week,” the spokesperson said.

Peng took back her statement regarding the accusations of the assault with a media outlet in Singapore under the name Lianhe Zaobao, which is a Chinese publication under Singapore Press Holdings Limited. She said, “First and foremost, I must emphasize I have never said or wrote about anyone sexually assaulting me,” along with a specific mention that she deleted her post for Private matters.

She had also mentioned her reasons, “I know there are many misunderstandings.” Peng Shuai said she stayed at home to avoid the pandemic and not for anything else. The Chinese player claimed to have not been monitored. “Why would anyone monitor me?. I have always been free,” she said. These seem to contradict what actually happened during her disappearance and her previous post.

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