Critics of IOC's call with Peng 'a little silly'

LONDON • Long-time International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound has dismissed claims that the global body vouched for the safety of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai to avoid angering Beijing and credited it with getting in touch with her when others could not.

"Frankly, I think that's a little silly and it's not supported by the evidence," he told Bloomberg TV yesterday. "All kinds of people were trying to get in touch with her to make sure that she was alive and healthy and not in captivity.

"The only organisation in the world that's been able to establish that is the IOC. I thought it was a very good start and everyone should be reassured she's fine."

Peng initially disappeared from the public eye last month after posting a 1,500-character essay on her verified Weibo account that alleged a decade-long sexual affair with retired former Chinese vice-premier Zhang Gaoli.

That post was soon deleted and attempts by the media and the women's WTA Tour to contact her were unsuccessful.

After tennis greats, including Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, joined the growing chorus of international figures demanding to know Peng's whereabouts, Chinese state media posted on Twitter a series of videos and pictures of Peng at home, out with friends and at a tennis event. But those clips prompted more questions about her well-being because no one outside China had been able to contact the 35-year-old.

The former world No. 1 doubles player then held a 30-minute video call on Nov 21 with the IOC, assuring its president Thomas Bach she was safe.

Still, the IOC - which has hundreds of millions of dollars at stake in the Beijing Winter Games starting in February - did not address key concerns about Peng, including why others were unable to contact her and why she has not posted on her Weibo account.

Human Rights Watch was critical of the IOC's call with Peng.

"The IOC appears to prize its relationship with a major human rights violator over the rights and safety of Olympic athletes," said Wang Yaqiu, a senior China researcher at the non-governmental organisation.

However, Pound, who last week insisted the IOC has no links with the Chinese government, revealed that Bach would likely have lunch with Peng next month when he arrives in Beijing before the Games, a meeting that will likely shed some clarity on her situation.

"This was the beginning of what is probably an ongoing dialogue about the revelations that she published and that were taken down," the Canadian added.

BLOOMBERG