Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, who has worried the world after being accused of raping a senior Chinese leader in November, confirmed in “The Team” that he had dinner with IOC President Thomas Bach on Saturday. She also reiterated that she “never disappeared” and said she had ended her career.
Chinese Peng Shuai, whose personal situation has been worrying the world since November, met with IOC President Thomas Bach on the sidelines of the Beijing Olympics on Saturday, February 5, and confirmed this in an interview with L’Equipe. According to her, she “never disappeared.”
During the “dinner” held on “Saturday”, “we were able to have a lot of discussions and communicate happily”, the tennis player explained in an interview published on the website of the French sports daily on Monday.
“He asked me if I was thinking about returning to the field, what my plans were, what I was thinking about, etc.”, explained Peng Shuai, who met two reporters from L’Équipe at a hotel in the Olympic Bubble.
Peng Shuai in early November accused the former Chinese leader of forcing her to have sex during a relationship that lasted several years. After the remarks were made on social networks and quickly deleted from the Chinese internet, former doubles world No. 1 Peng Shuai then disappeared, drawing attention from the tennis and sports worlds until she spoke with Thomas Bach via videoconference, on November 21.
Dressed in red and black tracksuits, Peng Shuai, 36, “looks in good shape,” according to the reporter who conducted the interview, her first interview since November.
“Keep in touch”
In this interview, she explained that she “never disappeared.” “It’s just that a lot of people, like my friends, including those from the IOC, send me messages, and it’s impossible to reply with so many messages. But with my close friends, I’m always in close contact with them. Discuss, respond to their emails, I also discuss with the WTA…”, she added.
On Thursday, two days before the meeting between Thomas Bach and Peng Shuai, the IOC had said it would “support” Peng Shuai if she called for an investigation into her allegations of coercive sex against a former Chinese. . leader.
“If she wants an investigation (of the allegations), of course we will support her, but it has to be her decision, it’s her life, these are her allegations. Thomas Bach in 2022 It was announced at a press conference on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Olympics that we have received these allegations and we have heard the news that they have been dropped.
When asked about the facts leading up to the case and the “sexual assault” she suffered, Peng Shuai denied it, which quickly disappeared when she returned to the message she posted on social networks.
“Sexual assault? I never said someone sexually assaulted me,” she insisted. Why delete the accusatory message? “Because I want to,” she replied.
” nothing special”
When asked about life since November, Peng Shuai explained that she “should be like this: nothing special…”
“First of all, I want people to understand who I am: I’m a totally normal girl. Sometimes I’m calm, sometimes I’m happy, sometimes I’m sad, or I’m very stressed, under very high pressure.. …. all normal emotions and reactions in women, and I live and feel them too,” she continued.
She also used the exchange to announce that she was ending her career, perhaps except “on an experienced team,” she said with a laugh. “Tennis has changed my life, bringing me joy, challenges and more. Even if I no longer play professionally, I will always be a tennis player,” she insists.
Since the case began, the player has only appeared in videos showing her attending sporting events, not allaying concerns about her complete freedom of movement.
with AFP