'Safe And Well': Chinese Tennis Star Peng Shuai In 30 Min Video Call With IOC Chief

In a statement, the International Olympic Committee said its president Thomas Bach had spoken to Peng for 30 minutes

Chinese Tennis Star Peng Shuai (File Photo | AFP)

New Delhi: Putting speculations at rest over the disappearance of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) told on Sunday about having a video call with Peng and that she was safe and well.

In a statement, the IOC said its president Thomas Bach had spoken to Peng for 30 minutes, according to BBC.

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, reported AFP.

"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."

IOC Athletes' Commission chair Emma Terho nevertheless said she was relieved after Sunday's video call, in which she took part.

"I was relieved to see that Peng Shuai was doing fine, which was our main concern," Terho said in the IOC statement.

Earlier during the day photos and videos of Peng at a tournament in Beijing that surfaced on media didn't help much in quelling international concerns of almost a three-week public absence followed by allegations of Peng that a former senior Chinese official sexually assaulted her, according to Reuters.

The video clip was posted by the editor of the Global Times - a Chinese state-affiliated media - said she was "at the opening ceremony of a teenager tennis match final", reported to be the Fila Kids Junior Tennis Challenger Finals.

France's foreign minister had demanded Chinese authorities to offer more reassurance, emphasising on the views of the Women's Tennis Association that the images were "insufficient" proof.

"I'm expecting only one thing: that she speaks," France's Jean-Yves Le Drian told LCI television, and threatened unspecified diplomatic consequences if China did not clear up the situation. The United States and Britain had also called for China to provide proof of Peng's whereabouts.

The chorus gained strength with current and former tennis players, from Naomi Osaka to Billie Jean King seeking to confirm she was safe, using the social media hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai?

The development over Peng came amid global rights groups and others have called for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February over China's human rights record.

The 35-year-old two-time Grand Slam doubles champion alleged earlier this month that 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.

Peng Shuia is a former Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion. She is ranked no. 1 in WTA rankings.