Peng Shuai denies sexual assault allegations, WTA still not convinced
Peng Shuai had alleged last month that she was sexually assaulted. However, recently, as per Chinese media, she has denied it. Nonetheless, WTA is still not convinced by it.
FollowChinese tennis player Peng Shuai remains in the news for a controversial reason. Last month, she had alleged that former Chinese vice premier Zhang Gaoli had sexually assaulted her. However, since then, she had deleted her social media post of the same, while now, she has reportedly denied the allegations.
After deleting the post, Shuai went missing, raising concerns about her whereabouts, which was seriously pursued by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). In the meantime, a Singapore-based media outlet has shared a video of Shuai, where she denies the allegations. "First, I need to stress one critical point. I have never said or written that anyone has sexually assaulted me. I have to stress this point," she said in the video, reports Reuters.
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It happens to be the first time that Shuai has spoken on camera since the incident came to light. Also, she clarified that her post on Weibo was misunderstood. She explained that she has been staying in her home in Beijing and is safe, while she is staying without any security. Also, neither was she asked about Zhang nor did she mention him, leading to fans wondering if her account was hacked.
On the other hand, WTA was not entirely impressed with the latest clarification from Shuai. "We remain steadfast in our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern," noted WTA in a statement.
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As of now, WTA has suspended its tournaments in China in the wake of the incident. While China has yet to comment on Shuai's matter officially, it has opposed WTA's decision to suspend competitions in the country, stating that it "opposes the politicization of sports". Even Zhang had refused to comment on WTA's stance.
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