In a November social media post, the former doubles World No. 1 claimed that former Chinese vice-premier Zhang Gaoli forced her into s℮x during a years-long relationship. The post was quickly removed, and Peng had not been heard from in nearly three weeks. She has since appeared at public events, denying the accusation in December.

“I never said anyone had sexually assaulted me in any way,” Peng told the French sports daily L’Equipe, reiterating a similar comment she gave to a Singaporean newspaper back in December.

It was widely assumed that it had been removed by the country’s strict internet censors, who were sensitive to any criticism of the ruling Communist Party.

When asked why she deleted it, Peng told L’Equipe, “Because I wanted to.”

“There was a lot of misinformation in the outside world as a result of this post,” she said during a press conference in the Beijing Winter Olympics bubble. “I don’t want the meaning of this post to be twisted anymore. And I don’t want any further media hype around it.”

“There was a huge misunderstanding in the outside world following this post,” she said during the interview in the Beijing Winter Olympics bubble.

“I don’t want the meaning of this post to be twisted anymore. And I don’t want any further media hype around it.”