BEIJING: Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has denied she ever accused anyone of sexual assault, adding that she herself had deleted her social media post in November that had appeared to make such a claim.
The well-being of Peng, a three-time Olympian, became a matter of global concern when she appeared to allege on social media that a former Chinese vice premier, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her in the past.
In an interview with French newspaper L'Equipe at a hotel in Beijing, Peng denied she had made such allegations.
"In the text we could see in Europe, you accused someone of sexual assault. What did you really write? We don't understand," asked the paper.
"Sexual assault? I never said anyone had sexually assaulted me in any way," said Peng, without elaborating.
In her now-deleted post on China's Twitter-like Weibo, Peng had written "why did you take me to your house and force me into having relations with you?", though she also described the relationship with Zhang as an on-off one that was also consensual.
The post led the Women's Tennis Association to suspend tournaments in China and caused an international outcry about her safety.
Discussion of the scandal has been heavily censored in China's tightly controlled cyberspace and searches for Peng's name on Weibo continue to show no recent search results.
Peng has not updated her Weibo account since the post was removed.
'HUGE MISUNDERSTANDING'
Asked about the interview by Reuters on Monday, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said it was up to Peng to communicate her situation.
"We said what we had to say, the communication is up to her, it is her life, it is her story and this is why the communication is up to her," said Bach, who had dinner with Peng in Beijing on Saturday.
Peng told the French paper her social media post had caused a "huge misunderstanding", repeating comments reported by a Singapore media outlet in December, and that she did not want "any further media hype" about it.
"I'd like to say that feelings, sports and politics are three very distinct things. My lovelife problems, my personal life must not be mingled with sports and politics," she was quoted as saying.
"And sports must not be politicised because when that happens, most of the time it means turning one's back on the Olympic spirit and it goes against the will of the sporting world and the athletes."
The interview was conducted in Chinese and translated into English by a Chinese Olympic official during the interview, as well as an interpreter based in Paris, said the paper.
Questions were submitted in advance, and the paper agreed to publish Peng's responses without commentary, it said.
Peng, pictured wearing a red tracksuit top with the characters for China on it, also sought to allay fears over her safety, saying her life since November had been "nothing special". She denied she had "disappeared" after the furore when she was not seen in public for weeks.
She also said she had not been aware of the worries expressed by the international community, such as the use of social media hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai by some of the world's top tennis players, including Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, as she did not watch much foreign media news and could not read in English.
The WTA, which said in December that Peng's appearances did not address its concerns about her wellbeing, did not immediately respond to a request for comments on her latest remarks.
In a statement on Monday, the IOC said Peng would attend several Olympics events. She also plans to travel to Europe after the pandemic and visit the IOC headquarters in Switzerland, it added.
Peng also said a previous knee injury that had required several rounds of surgery and her age made it unlikely she would compete professionally again.
Reuters
Mon Feb 07 2022
China's Peng Shuai in action against Japan's Nao Hibino. - REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File photo
X ubah ciri 'block', komen masih boleh dibaca
CIRI block di X (Twitter) ialah cara paling mudah untuk menghalang akaun tertentu daripada muncul di susur masa atau pemegang akaun membaca ciapan anda.
Sambungan bluetooth dari bumi ke satelit berjaya dilakukan
Hubble Network, sebuah syarikat pemula dari Amerika Syarikat berjaya melakukan sambungan bluetooth dari bumi ke satelit di angkasa lepas.
UNESCO hadiahkan semua wartawan di Gaza anugerah PBB
Sebagai sebuah badan PBB yang menggalakkan keamanan dan keselamatan dunia, bumi gaza telah menjadi enjadi tempat paling maut bagi wartawan dalam sejarah susulan serangan kejam israel membunuh puluhan ribu manusia.
Piala Thomas 2024: 15 skrin besar tayang aksi separuh akhir Malaysia-China esok
Peminat sukan badminton tanah air berpeluang menyaksikan aksi separuh akhir Piala Thomas 2024 antara Malaysia dan China yang akan ditayangkan di 15 lokasi skrin besar di seluruh negara, pada Sabtu ini
Kes demam denggi berkurangan pada ME17, tiada kematian - KP Kesihatan
Jumlah kes demam denggi dilaporkan berkurangan kepada 2,237 kes pada Minggu Epidemiologi ke-17 (ME17) iaitu dari 21 April hingga 27 April lalu berbanding 2,321 kes pada minggu sebelumnya.
Polis giat buru suspek samun pemain TFC
Dalam kejadian kira-kira jam 8.30 malam itu, mangsa yang juga pemain bola sepak kebangsaan berusia 25 tahun cedera di kepala, kaki kiri dan lengan kiri.
Bapa ditahan dera anak usia 2 tahun
Seorang lelaki diberkas dipercayai mendera anak perempuannya yang berumur dua tahun dalam kejadian di sebuah rumah dekat Taman Pinggiran Cheras.
Kes demam denggi menurun pada ME17, tiada kematian - KP Kesihatan
Orang awam dinasihati supaya mengelak daripada berada di luar rumah pada waktu puncak gigitan nyamuk aedes.
KPM sedar sistem pendidikan berdepan krisis
Semua pihak termasuk Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia sedar bahawa sistem Pendidikan negara sedang berdepan dengan krisis.
Lebih 500,000 pelajar Sabah nikmati manfaat pembaikan sekolah daif
Seramai 514,070 murid dan pelajar di Sabah menikmati prasarana sekolah lebih baik hasil usaha berterusan kerajaan Persekutuan menerusi Kementerian Pendidikan dalam menaik taraf sekolah daif serta kerja-kerja penyelenggaraan bangunan sekolah di negeri itu
Lai Ching-te dari DPP menang Pilihan Raya Taiwan
Lai berdepan saingan tiga penjuru dengan Hou Yu-ih dari Kuomintang (KMT) dan Ko Wen-je dari Parti Rakyat Taiwan.
Pilihan Raya Taiwan: Rakyat mula jalankan tanggungjawab masing-masing
Pilihan raya tersebut menyusul ketika Beijing meningkatkan tekanan untuk mendapatkan pulau itu menerima kedaulatannya.
Beijing alami lebih banyak salji, gelombang sejuk dijangka melanda
Kawasan perbandaran Beijing mengalami lebih banyak salji pada Khamis dengan gelombang sejuk dijangka melanda ibu negara China itu pada Jumaat.
33 maut hujan paling lebat landa Beijing
Sekurang-kurangnya lima pekerja bantuan adalah antara mangsa yang maut. 18 orang lagi mangsa masih hilang.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Blinken tiba di China bagi kendurkan ketegangan
Beberapa siri pertemuan dengan wakil kerajaan berpangkat tinggi dirancang sebelum Blinken berlepas pada Isnin.
Gelombang panas landa beijing, suhu cecah 39 darjah Celsius
Bandar raya Beijing mengeluarkan amaran pada tahap oren berikutan suhu tinggi diramal mencecah 39 darjah Celsius pada Jumaat, menurut pihak berkuasa cuaca tempatan.
Diplomat kanan China, AS bincang tingkatkan hubungan dua hala
Perbincangan itu diadakan di Beijing pada 5 Jun, lapor Sputnik yang memetik Kementerian Luar China pada Selasa.
Presiden Xi mahu Beijing terajui bidang sains dan teknologi
China komited meneruskan strategi keterbukaan serta sedia berganding tangan dengan semua untuk mempromosi inovasi sains dan teknologi.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.