Sports

Chinese tennis player Peng denies making accusation of sexual assault – Reuters

Published

3 years ago

February 6, 2022

Tennis – Australian Open – First Round – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 21, 2020 China’s Shuai Peng in action during the match against Japan’s Nao Hibino REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

BEIJING, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has denied she ever accused anyone of sexual assault, adding that she herself had deleted her social media post in November that had appeared to make such a claim.

The well-being of Peng, a three-time Olympian, became a matter of global concern when she appeared to allege on social media that a former Chinese vice premier, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her in the past.

In an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe at a hotel in Beijing, Peng denied she had made such allegations.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

“In the text we could see in Europe, you accused someone of sexual assault. What did you really write? We don’t understand,” asked the paper.

“Sexual assault? I never said anyone had sexually assaulted me in any way,” said Peng, without elaborating.

In her now-deleted post on China’s Twitter-like Weibo, Peng had written “why did you take me to your house and force me into having relations with you?”, though she also described the relationship with Zhang as an on-off one that was also consensual.

The post led the Women’s Tennis Association to suspend tournaments in China and caused an international outcry about her safety.

Discussion of the scandal has been heavily censored in China’s tightly controlled cyberspace and searches for Peng’s name on Weibo continue to show no recent search results.

Peng has not updated her Weibo account since the post was removed.

‘HUGE MISUNDERSTANDING’

Asked about the interview by Reuters on Monday, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said it was up to Peng to communicate her situation.

“We said what we had to say, the communication is up to her, it is her life, it is her story and this is why the communication is up to her,” said Bach, who had dinner with Peng in Beijing on Saturday.

Peng told the French paper her social media post had caused a “huge misunderstanding”, repeating comments reported by a Singapore media outlet in December, and that she did not want “any further media hype” about it.

“I’d like to say that feelings, sports and politics are three very distinct things. My lovelife problems, my personal life must not be mingled with sports and politics,” she was quoted as saying.

“And sports must not be politicised because when that happens, most of the time it means turning one’s back on the Olympic spirit and it goes against the will of the sporting world and the athletes.”

The interview was conducted in Chinese and translated into English by a Chinese Olympic official during the interview, as well as an interpreter based in Paris, said the paper.

Questions were submitted in advance, and the paper agreed to publish Peng’s responses without commentary, it said.

Peng, pictured wearing a red tracksuit top with the characters for China on it, also sought to allay fears over her safety, saying her life since November had been “nothing special”. She denied she had “disappeared” after the furore when she was not seen in public for weeks.

She also said she had not been aware of the worries expressed by the international community, such as the use of social media hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai by some of the world’s top tennis players, including Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, as she did not watch much foreign media news and could not read in English.

The WTA, which said in December that Peng’s appearances did not address its concerns about her wellbeing, did not immediately respond to a request for comments on her latest remarks.

In a statement on Monday, the IOC said Peng would attend several Olympics events. She also plans to travel to Europe after the pandemic and visit the IOC headquarters in Switzerland, it added.

Peng also said a previous knee injury that had required several rounds of surgery and her age made it unlikely she would compete professionally again.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Reporting by Dominque Patton, Tony Munroe, Natalie Thomas, Karolos Grohmann and Brenda Goh; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Lincoln Feast.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Adblock test (Why?)

Source link

Sports

Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

Published

18 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.

The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.

The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.

Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.

“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”

Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

Source link

Sports

Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.

Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.

In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.

Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.

Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.

Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.

It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.

Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.

FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.

And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.

“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

Source link

Sports

Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

Published

1 day ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.

The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.

The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.

Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.

The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.

Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

Source link