GERMANY’S independent elite athletes' organisation has urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to provide evidence of the safety of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai and called for an independent investigation into her situation. Peng's whereabouts became a matter of international concern following a nearly three-week public absence after she posted a message on social media in early November alleging that China's former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli had sexually assaulted her. Neither Zhang, who retired in 2018, nor the Chinese government has commented on Peng's allegation and the topic has been blocked from direct discussion on China's heavily censored internet. In the…