IOC president Thomas Bach can’t escape repeated questions about Peng Shuai and issues raised by two video calls the IOC has had with her. The calls were aimed at conveying a message that Peng was safe despite being absent from public view after the three-time Olympic tennis player accused a top Chinese politician of sexual assault almost six weeks ago.

The questions keep coming, even overshadowing a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics called by the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Lithuania. Bach has acknowledged that Peng’s situation is “fragile.”