Beijing Games set to open as Peng Shuai allegations back in spotlight

 BEIJING - Thomas Bach will meet Peng Shuai at the Beijing Winter Olympics to assess her "physical integrity and her mental

state", the IOC chief said Thursday, as controversy dogged the Games right up
to the eve of the opening ceremony.

   Bach said the International Olympic Committee would support an inquiry
into the tennis star's allegation of sexual assault against a top-ranking
Chinese politician -- if she calls for one.

   The lead-up to the Beijing Olympics, which open on Friday with a ceremony
at the "Bird's Nest" stadium, have been overshadowed by human rights
concerns, the Covid pandemic and even fears about Chinese government snooping
of athletes.

   Peng, a former Grand Slam champion doubles player, has also been a major
talking point after she alleged on Chinese social media in November that
former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli had forced her into sex during an on-off
relationship.

   It was the first time that the #MeToo movement had touched China's ruling
Communist Party.

   The allegation was swiftly scrubbed from China's tightly controlled
Internet and Peng was not heard from for nearly three weeks, only to reappear
in public and she later held a video call with Bach.

   In December she denied ever making the allegation but it remains unclear
how free and safe the three-time Olympian really is.

   Bach did not say exactly when during the Games he will meet her, but said:
"If she wants to have an inquiry, of course we would also support her in
this. But it must be her decision. It's her life, it's her allegations.

   "We have had the allegations and we have heard the withdrawal.

   "We will have this personal meeting and there we will continue this
conversation and then we will know better also about her physical integrity
and her mental state when we can finally meet in person."

   China hopes the Olympics will be a soft-power triumph but there are other
controversies, among them the environmental impact of a Games taking place in
one of the driest regions of the country and relying almost entirely on man-
made snow.

   The United States, Britain, Canada and Australia are among countries
staging a diplomatic boycott over human rights, with the fate of China's
Muslim Uyghur minority of particular concern.

   Washington accuses China of perpetrating genocide in the region of
Xinjiang. China warned that the US would "pay the price" for its diplomatic
boycott.

   Athletes of the boycotting nations will still compete.

   - Covid in bubble -

   China and the IOC hope that the rancour that has clouded the build-up will
be relegated to the sidelines once the action gets under way.

   The sport started on Wednesday with curling and there was a smattering of
masked fans at the so-called "Ice Cube", the striking venue known as the
"Water Cube" when Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Games, which was seen then
as China's coming-out party on the world stage.

   Women's hockey and freestyle skiing is also under way.

   These Games are taking place in a vast "closed loop" bubble to thwart the
coronavirus, with the nearly 3,000 athletes and tens of thousands of support
staff, volunteers and media cut off from Beijing's general population.

   China, where the virus emerged in late 2019, has pursued a no-nonsense
zero-Covid policy nationwide and adopted the same approach to the Games, with
everyone cocooned inside the bubble having daily tests and required to wear a
mask at all times.

   There were 55 positive Covid results among Games-related personnel on
Wednesday, the highest daily total so far, bringing the number since January
23 to 287.

   Eleven people have been hospitalised with the virus but Brian McCloskey,
chairman of the medical expert panel for Beijing 2022, said none were
seriously ill.

   - Hanyu v Chen -

   It is easy to forget that some sport is happening.

   Eileen Gu has captivated China and looks set to be the face of the Games.

   The 18-year-old grade-A student, born and raised in California, switched
from the United States to represent China and is hot favourite in freestyle
skiing.

   There will also be intense interest in Chloe Kim, the American snowboarder
who melted hearts when she won gold aged 17 at the Pyeongchang Olympics in
2018.

   Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu is looking to make it a hat-trick of figure-skating
Olympic titles but faces a stern challenge from his American rival Nathan
Chen.

   Norway are tipped to top the medals table for a second consecutive Winter
Olympics. The Games end on February 20.BSS/AFP