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Women’s Tennis Star Peng Shuai Insists She’s OK But Many Aren’t Believing It

BSabitt
The WTA is still concerned that Peng Shuai may be in trouble even after she conducted an interview with the IOC where she maintained that she was safe

TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 30: Gold medalist Ma Long during the Men's Table Tennis Singles Gold Medal Match between Fan Zhendong of China and Ma Long of China on Day 7 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Metropolitan Gym on July 30, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Pete Dovgan/Speed Media/Icon Sportswire)

The story of Peng Shuai continues to get more eery.

The women’s tennis star drew a lot of attention when she seemingly disappeared after accusing a Chinese politician of sexual assaulting her.

Shuai made her accusation on social media, but then took down the post and nobody was able to get a hold of her for three weeks.

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But recently, Peng Shuai did a zoom interview with with IOC president Thomas Bach and a couple of other officials. According to them, she claims to be safe at this time, though she also requested privacy.

“Peng Shuai thanked the IOC for its concern about her well-being. 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. That is why she prefers to spend her time with friends and family right now,” the IOC said in a statement issued following the call via TMZ.

Another IOC official said they left the call feeling relieved that Peng was not currently in harm’s way.

“I was relieved to see that Peng Shuai was doing fine, which was our main concern. 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.”

While the IOC might be convinced that Peng is currently not in danger, the WTA feels that she may have been coerced by Chinese government to conduct the interview.

“It was good to see Peng Shuai in recent videos, but they don’t alleviate or address the WTA’s concern about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion,” a WTA spokesperson told ESPN.

The WTA would elaborate thatchy still would like to have some of their questions answered.

“This video does not change our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern.”

We’ll await any further news on this extremely bizarre case involving Peng Shuai.

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