IOC to meet Peng Shuai during Beijing Olympics

BEIJING: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Thursday (Jan 27) that it has spoken with Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai again and plans to meet her in Beijing during next month's Winter Games.

Peng, a former world number one in doubles, has been the subject of worldwide concern since alleging in November that she had been "forced" into sex by former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli during an on-off relationship.

Beijing's censors swiftly scrubbed the allegation from China's tightly controlled Internet and the 36-year-old was not seen in public for nearly three weeks.

Zhang has not commented on the allegations while Peng has since made brief appearances that have been widely pushed by Chinese state media reporters as proof of her freedom and well-being.

In one brief video conversation with a Singaporean newspaper she said she had never claimed anyone sexually assaulted her.

An IOC spokesperson said in a statement to AFP that the Olympic body had "kept in touch with (Peng) and had a number of conversations with her" since an initial call in November, with the most recent communication coming "just the past week".

Peng told the IOC she was "looking forward to the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and intends to follow the competitions and her fellow Chinese Olympians closely", according to the statement.

She reiterated that she was "looking forward" to meeting IOC president Thomas Bach and chair of the IOC athletes' commission Emma Terho during the Games, the statement said.

Bach spoke with Peng by video call last November with the IOC releasing a statement saying the tennis star was "safe and well".

That led to accusations that Bach was acting to protect the Olympic hosts.

Bach is currently in Beijing and met