For all the talk of sport as a catalyst for change, ongoing fears for former tennis star suggest oppressive regimes hold all the cards
Where is Peng Shuai? For a brief moment during the Winter Olympics last year I had an answer, of sorts, to that deeply troubling question. For there she was, suddenly and without warning, at the Big Air final, watching the Chinese‑American superstar Eileen Gu soar and spin through the Beijing sky to take gold.
At first I wondered from my vantage point in the press stands whether it was really Peng. The presence of the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, and a swarm of photographers, answered that. Soon images of the former Wimbledon doubles champion, who had not been seen in public for months amid concern for her wellbeing, went global. And then she was gone. A ghost in the machine again.
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