[by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51VOA.COM [00:00.08]Tennis star Maria Sharapova said she will appeal the two-year suspension [00:06.04]by the International Tennis Federation, or ITF. [00:11.16]The ITF said Sharapova was responsible for failing a test earlier this year [00:17.64]for the banned drug known as meldonium. [00:21.96]The usual suspension is four years, but the independent panel reduced it to two. [00:29.00]The panel said Sharapova was "the sole author of her own misfortune." [00:35.08]The suspension was reduced because it could not prove Sharapova intended to cheat. [00:42.36]Sharapova wrote on Facebook that [00:45.20]"I cannot accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension." [00:50.28]The five-time grand slam winner added that she "did not do anything intentionally wrong." [00:56.84]And she will appeal the ITF's decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. [01:04.16]Sharapova failed the drug test in late January [01:07.88]while playing in the Australian Open. [01:11.00]She was provisionally suspended right away, [01:14.32]which means the soonest she will be allowed to play again is January 2018. [01:20.84]Meldonium is a drug made in Eastern Europe [01:24.08]and popular with athletes from that part of the world. [01:28.40]It is supposed to increase blood flow [01:31.28]and helps athletes by carrying more oxygen to muscles. [01:36.24]Sharapova said she was taking a drug called Mildronate for over 10 years. [01:41.92]But she did not know it was the same as meldonium. [01:46.52]Meldonium was only banned from world tennis starting with the 2016 season. [01:53.24]Sharapova argued her case during a hearing in London in May. [01:58.64]The ruling prevents Sharapova from competing in the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [02:06.52]The Russian Tennis Federation has already replaced her with another player. [02:13.12]About 200 athletes tested positive for meldonium this year. [02:18.08]Many argued that the drug stayed in their system even though they last used it in 2015. [02:26.08]Earlier this year, the World Anti-Doping Association said [02:30.84]some athletes who had tested positive might have their suspensions lifted [02:36.08]if they could prove their last dose was in 2015. [02:40.44]But during the hearing, Sharapova's lawyer said she did use the drug in 2016. [02:48.08]I'm Anna Mateo.