Already when Tomas Axnér took over as Swedish national team captain in the summer of 2020, his daughter Tyra Axnér had made an impression in the U17 national team.
Today, the 19-year-old, who plays in Danish Herning-Ikast, is part of the Swedish gross squad and can be called up to the World Cup in Spain in the event of injuries.
- I do not think as a parent in that situation but as the league captain.
My daughter is in the gross squad because she has things that we may need to use.
If we get in such a situation, we choose the one we think will be able to complement the team best in the current situation.
I will only think about handball and not be a parent, says Tomas Axnér to SVT Sport and continues:
Hanna Fogelström, who is responsible for the national team at the Swedish Handball Association, says that the association has prepared for that situation.
- We have had a knowledge and dialogue about it since Tomas was recruited, so we have said that when it approaches, we have a meeting and a unified picture of how we should handle it in the future.
It must land well and then of course we must talk to each other before it is time, says Hanna Fogelström to SVT Sport.
Who is involved in making the decision?
- It will be primarily me and Tomas who take the first and then there are more people to anchor it with, but it is Tomas and I primarily who have the dialogue connected to it.
Tomas Axnér sees great advantages in more people being involved and making the decision.
- Of course, it is good that you do not stretch in one direction or another, that you are a parent and that the decision is made for that reason.
So it's good for both me and her, he says.