After a pale European Championship where Sweden finished eleven, the national team captain Tomas Axnér chose to poke Nathalie Hagman for the Olympic qualifiers.
- It was not a great championship from my side or from us as a team.
It was a big disappointment.
I think the self-confidence was lacking there.
When you hesitate a bit as a handball player, it rarely gets good, says Hagman.
"Is never fun"
But after the fight, Hagman has come to life in his club team Nantes, which won the final four in the spring.
Hagman was a strong contributing factor as she scored eleven goals in the semifinals against Siofok.
- Not being selected is never fun.
But it also made me want it not to happen again, because I really wanted to be selected for the Olympics.
"Based on performance"
Federation captain Tomas Axnér:
- It is based on performance.
Hagman has had a great spring in his club team, but has also worked hard to get back and it will of course be rewarded.
She qualifies for athletic qualifications.
She had a European Championship that was not on par with what I had expected, now she has proven the opposite, says Axnér about Hagman who is hungry for revenge:
- Moving on from the group is the first goal.
Then it is the quarterfinals and after that there are only two matches left, says Hagman.
That sounds easy?
- Yes, it is very easy to sit here and say a lot.
But if you go there, you want to win all the matches.
Strange if you just go there to participate.