Olympic official rejects Peng Shuai video call criticism as ‘silly’

Dick Pound defends IOC saying it was able to reach missing Chinese tennis star while others could not

A senior Olympic official has defended his organisation's efforts to confirm the safety of Peng Shuai, dismissing criticism as silly" and saying no one else had been able to get in touch with the tennis star who went missing after publishing allegations of sexual assault.

Dick Pound, who has held a variety of posts with the IOC over 45 years and is the chairman of Olympic Broadcasting Services, rejected criticism of the IOC for giving minimal information after its president, Thomas Bach, spoke with Peng via video link last week. Some had accused the IOC of seeking to not anger Beijing and prioritising the commercial relationship over the safety of athletes. China is due to host the Winter Olympics in February.