Tennis star Maria Sharapova said she will appeal the two-year suspension by the International Tennis Federation, or ITF. The ITF said Sharapova was responsible for failing a test earlier this year for the banned drug known as meldonium. The usual suspension is four years, but the independent panel reduced it to two. The panel said Sharapova was “the sole author of her own misfortune.” The suspension was reduced because it could not prove Sharapova intended to cheat. Sharapova wrote on Facebook that “I cannot accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension.” The five-time grand slam winner added that she “did not do anything intentionally wrong.” And she will appeal the ITF’s decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Sharapova failed the drug test in late January while playing in the Australian Open. She was provisionally suspended right away, which means the soonest she will bea llowed to play again is January 2018. Meldonium is a drug made in Eastern Europe and popular with athletes from that part of the world.
Title: Maria Sharapova Suspended for Two Years
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/mar_audio.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Maria Sharapova Suspended for Two Years' data-article-id='1601'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='10896'>Tennis star Maria Sharapova said she will appeal the two-year suspension by the International Tennis Federation, or ITF.</span> <span data-start-time='10896' data-end-time='21854'>The ITF said Sharapova was responsible for failing a test earlier this year for the banned drug known as meldonium.</span> <span data-start-time='21854' data-end-time='29167'>The usual suspension is four years, but the independent panel reduced it to two.</span> <span data-start-time='29167' data-end-time='34771'>The panel said Sharapova was “the sole author of her own misfortune.”</span> <span data-start-time='34771' data-end-time='42104'>The suspension was reduced because it could not prove Sharapova intended to cheat.</span> <span data-start-time='42104' data-end-time='49896'>Sharapova wrote on Facebook that “I cannot accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension.”</span> <span data-start-time='49896' data-end-time='56792'>The five-time grand slam winner added that she “did not do anything intentionally wrong.”</span> <span data-start-time='56792' data-end-time='63708'>And she will appeal the ITF’s decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.</span> <span data-start-time='63708' data-end-time='70646'>Sharapova failed the drug test in late January while playing in the Australian Open.</span> <span data-start-time='70646' data-end-time='80521'>She was provisionally suspended right away, which means the soonest she will bea llowed to play again is January 2018.</span> <span data-start-time='80521' data-end-time='87729'>Meldonium is a drug made in Eastern Europe and popular with athletes from that part of the world.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/mar_img.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=6379 data-hint-location='29167' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/what_does_misfortune_mean.m4a'>What does misfortune mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='an unlucky condition'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/an_unlucky_condition.m4a'><span>an unlucky condition</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/to_create_something.m4a'><span>to create something</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/only_or_single.m4a'><span>only or single</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/for_the_present_time.m4a'><span>for the present time</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=6380 data-hint-location='21854' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/how_long_will_the_suspension_last.m4a'>How long will the suspension last?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='two years'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/two_days.m4a'><span>two days</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/ten_years.m4a'><span>ten years</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/four_years.m4a'><span>four years</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/two_years.m4a'><span>two years</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=6381 data-hint-location='10896' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/sharapova_was_suspended_for_using__blank_.m4a'>Sharapova was suspended for using <span class='blank'>meldonium</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='meldonium'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/hormones.m4a'><span>hormones</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/heroine.m4a'><span>heroine</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/meldonium.m4a'><span>meldonium</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1108/steroids.m4a'><span>steroids</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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