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China’s tennis star Peng Shuai breaks her silence: no sexual assault
- The three-time Olympian says she made no such claims in a social media post which sparked international concerns for her well-being
- In first interview with independent international media, Peng said she dined with Olympics chief Thomas Bach and discussed her future plans
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Chinese tennis champion Peng Shuai has denied accusing anyone of sexual assault, in an exclusive interview with French sports daily L’Equipe published on Monday.
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Peng also said she had dinner with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach on Saturday, when they discussed her future plans and whether she would return to competition.
It was the first time Peng had spoken to international, independent media since she posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo in November that she had been pressured into having sex with a retired senior Chinese official. The post was quickly deleted.
According to the newspaper, conditions for the interview included that it should be conducted in Chinese and published without commentary.
Peng, a three-time Olympian, was accompanied by Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) chief of staff Wang Kan, who acted as translator for the interview with two journalists at a hotel inside the Winter Olympics “bubble”.
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“I never said anyone sexually assaulted me,” she said.
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