“We have answered the question ‘Where is Peng Shuai'” IOC President Thomas Bach believes the Peng Shuai case is done


“We have answered the question ‘Where is Peng Shuai'” IOC President Thomas Bach believes the Peng Shuai case is done

Thomas Bach, (President of the IOC), Peng Shuai

The entire globe had been asking the question ‘Where is Peng Shuai‘ ever since the former doubles World No. 1 Peng Shuai went missing for 3 weeks after she had accused China’s senior politician Zhang Gaoli of having forced her into a sexual relationship. Peng had come forward via a post on her account on the Chinese social media platform ‘Weibo’, with the post deleted just 30 minutes later.

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Peng was not heard or seen for 3 weeks from the day she posted about her suffering and it was during this period that the hashtag ‘#WhereisPengShuai’ became trending on all social media platforms. With China facing the backlash of global media for their refusal of the claim, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) backed the Chinese government throughout.

The IOC came out and shared photos of their online meeting with Peng and dismissed the accusations made towards China. While the WTA did not accept these ‘proofs’, they went ahead and suspended all tennis tournaments in China and Hong Kong till the player was able to communicate freely with WTA.

With China currently hosting the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Peng was spotted at the tournament and for the first time since November, she gave an interview to French sports daily L’Equipe, her first interview with a foreign media house. In the interview, she denied all the allegations she made and blamed WTA for ‘exaggerating things‘.

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“We tried to answer the question that everyone was asking: ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’. That’s why we took this human-centric approach, right from the start, and that’s why we invited her here, to show everyone that it’s not about a one-day process. We will maintain this contact. We have answered the question “Where is Peng Shuai?”. We continue by having invited her to come to Lausanne (IOC Headquarters),” said Thomas Bach, President of IOC from Beijing as reported by welovetennis.fr.

Peng Shuai announces retirement

Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai

During the same interview with L’Equipe, Peng announced that with her ‘multiple surgeries’, age and difficulties to travel with the ongoing Pandemic, she has decided to retire from the sport. “Tennis completely changed my life. It brought me joy, challenges, and so much more. Sometimes it’s hard to say goodbye and retire. Even if I no longer participate in professional competitions, I will always be a tennis player.”

Also Read: “I always had a plan” Serena Williams is ‘prepared’ for her retirement