Peng Shuai calls global concern after abuse allegation a ‘huge misunderstanding’

Peng Shuai has described reports she accused a high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault as a “huge misunderstanding” as she repeated her denial the alleged incident ever took place.

The former doubles world number one said in a social media post in November that she was forced to have sex with former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli. Her post was swiftly deleted and her subsequent silence raised fears over her safety.

In an interview published on Monday with the French newspaper L’Equipe, during which she was accompanied by Chinese Olympic Committee chief of staff Wang Kan who translated her responses, Peng insisted she had been unaware of the global concern.

The interview was released at the same time as a statement by the International Olympic Committee, which confirmed Peng had had dinner on Saturday with its president Thomas Bach and the former chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, Kirsty Coventry.

In the interview with L’Equipe, Peng said: “I never said anyone had sexually assaulted me in any way.

“There was a huge misunderstanding in the outside world following this post. I don’t want the meaning of this post to be twisted anymore. And I don’t want any further media hype around it.

“I never disappeared. Everyone could see me. I never disappeared. It’s just that many people, like my friends or people from the IOC messaged me, and it was simply impossible to answer so many messages. But I’ve been always in close contact with my close friends.”

Peng’s predicament sparked a global call for transparency led by the Women’s Tennis Association, which announced in December the suspension of all tournaments in China due to its dissatisfaction with the response to the allegation from the Chinese authorities.

Bach was criticised for steering the IOC down a less confrontational approach, instead pursuing a meeting with Peng, the details of which the organisation said would only be released at Peng’s discretion.

Peng attended Monday’s mixed curling match between China and Norway and, according to the IOC, stated her intention to attend more events at the Winter Olympics over the next two weeks. She also accepted an invitation to visit IOC headquarters in Lausanne.

The IOC said: “During the dinner, the three spoke about their common experience as athletes at the Olympic Games, and Peng Shuai spoke of her disappointment at not being able to qualify for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

“In this context, she also shared her intention to travel to Europe when the Covid-19 pandemic is over, and the IOC president invited her to Lausanne to visit the IOC and The Olympic Museum, to continue the conversation on their Olympic experiences. Peng Shuai accepted this invitation.”