Russian Minister backs Sharapova
Russia\'s sports minister on Tuesday said he hoped to see tennis star Maria Sharapova back on court after she failed a dope test at the Australian Open.
Moscow: Russia's sports minister on Tuesday said he hoped to see tennis star Maria Sharapova back on court after she failed a dope test at the Australian Open.
“I feel sorry for Masha. I hope that we will see her back on court and we are prepared to support her,” minister Vitaly Mutko told State-run TASS news agency, using the Russian diminutive of Sharapova's first name.
“She travels from tournament to tournament and has a punishing schedule. The people in her team should be looking out for her.” Sharapova announced Monday that she had tested positive for Meldonium, a drug she said she had been taking since 2006 but that was only added to the banned list this year.
Her attorney, John Haggerty, said the positive test could carry a ban of up to four years, but that mitigating circumstances could see a lesser penalty. Shamil Tarpishchev, head of the Russian tennis federation, told the TASS news agency he believed Sharapova would still have a chance to play at the Rio Olympics in August.
A string of sports figures have tested positive for Meldonium this year, including Russian ice dancer Ekaterina Bobrova, Ukrainian biathletes Artem Tyshchenko and Olga Abramova and Ethiopian-born Swede Abebe Aregawi, the 2013 women's 1500m world champion.
Mutko warned that more Russian competitors could be hit by the Meldonium ban and said he would summon the country's sports chiefs to discuss the issue. “It seems that we are in for some shocks because of this medicine,” Mutko said. “Unfortunately I think there will still be some more cases.”
