BEIJING — Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis player who largely disappeared from public life after making sexual abuse accusations against a political official in November, held a private meeting with Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, in Beijing.
The two had dinner on Saturday at the Olympic Club and were joined by Kirsty Coventry, former chair of the Athletes’ Commission and an I.O.C. member, according to a statement released Monday from the I.O.C.
The statement did not address Peng’s sexual assault allegations or the possibility of Bach pressing for an investigation of Peng’s claims, but it said that Peng was at the Winter Olympics and attending events, including a curling match between China and Norway on Saturday night.
Peng’s disappearance from public view late last year prompted a global chorus of concern for her safety, and the statement from the I.O.C. was the first indication that she was in China and safe.
Peng told Bach she was disappointed she didn’t qualify for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo last summer, but planned to travel to Europe once the pandemic was over, the statement said. It added that Coventry and Peng would remain in contact and that “all three agreed that any further communication about the content of the meeting would be left to her discretion.”
