"Peng Shuai was doing fine," the Chair of the IOC Athletes' Commission Emma Terho said (File)
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, following international concern about her wellbeing.
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 in official event photos attending a Beijing tennis tournament, marking her first public appearance since her sexual abuse accusations were widely censored on the Chinese internet.
The two-time Grand Slam doubles champion had not been seen publicly since alleging earlier this month that former vice premier Zhang 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.
Hu tweeted in English that the second video shows "Peng Shuai was having dinner with her coach and friends in a restaurant. The video content clearly shows they are shot on Saturday Beijing time".
The conversation revolved around "tennis matches". A man sitting with Peng and two women said "tomorrow is November 20th".
But one of the women quickly corrects him, saying, "It is the 21st", implying that the video was filmed on Saturday.
The chat appears to be staged. It was filmed in the evening hours with a mobile phone. Peng appears relaxed in the footage.
- 'Insufficient' -
Peng's claims against Zhang were the first time China's #MeToo movement has touched the highest echelons of the ruling Communist Party.
They were quickly scrubbed from the Twitter-like Weibo platform, and concerns have grown for her safety since.
The Women's Tennis Association has threatened to end lucrative contracts with China unless it gets word of Peng's safety.
On the restaurant videos, WTA boss Steve Simon said he was glad to see the images but "it remains unclear if she is free and able to make decisions and take actions on her own, without coercion or external interference".
"This video alone is insufficient," Simon said in a statement.
"I have been clear about what needs to happen and our relationship with China is at a crossroads."
A WTA spokeswoman later told AFP that Sunday's images from the Beijing tournament still did not address their concerns.
But while the images and footage did not seem to alleviate the concerns about Peng's wellbeing, IOC Athletes' Commission chair Emma Terho said she was relieved after Sunday's video call, which she took part in.
"I was relieved to see that Peng Shuai was doing fine, which was our main concern," Terho said in the IOC statement.
"She appeared to be relaxed. I offered her our support and to stay in touch at any time of her convenience, which she obviously appreciated."
- 'Independent, verifiable proof' -
A growing chorus of voices in the sports world and beyond has been demanding answers about how Peng is.
The White House has expressed "deep concern" about Peng, with President Joe Biden's press secretary saying his administration wanted China to "provide independent, verifiable proof" of her whereabouts.
Britain's foreign office also said it was "extremely concerned" and urged China to release verifiable evidence, while France's foreign minister said she should be allowed to speak freely to clarify her situation.
The UN has insisted on a fully transparent investigation into the claims made by Peng.
Some of the biggest names in tennis have spoken out about the case, including Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka.
Superstar Roger Federer also weighed in on Saturday, saying on Sky News: "She's one of our tennis champions, a former world number one. Clearly it's concerning. I hope she's safe."
Peng represented China at the Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro Olympics and won gold for China at the 2010 Asian Games.
She is a former Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/peng-shuai-relieved-olympics-body-chief-after-video-call-with-chinese-tennis-star-2619642
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