The 33-year-old Luleå goalkeeper, who made his national team debut in the 2006-07 season and has made 276 international appearances, would have played his fourth Olympics in Beijing in February.

But the days before Damkronorna's training camp at home, she suffered from covid-19 and was removed directly by the national team captain Ulf Lundberg and the Swedish Ice Hockey Association.

Unlike some of the players in Tre Kronor who instead had to join later.

Something Grahn could also have done if Lundberg and the union had not been in such a hurry.

"Could have waited"

Sara Grahn has criticized the quick decision before and stands by it.

- I think they took me away far too soon.

I was negative when there were ten days left until the Olympics and started training immediately afterwards.

I thought they could have waited and that I could have gone two days later, she says.

CLIP: Highlights from final 3 between Brynäs and Luleå (April 3)

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Highlights from final 3 between Brynäs and Luleå in the SDHL playoffs.

Grahn has not heard anything from the league captain Lundberg or the league afterwards.

No apology or explanation.

- Of course I would have liked him to call after the Olympics, but that's how it is.

He will surely hear from you after the season, we'll see, she says.

"Have no idea"

Sara Grahn has been the obvious goalkeeper in the national team for many years and even though Emma Söderberg did an impressive Olympics, Grahn is an important cog when Damkronorna will replace Russia in the A-WC in August / September.

But Sara Grahn says that she has not decided how she will stand for continued national team play.

- I have no idea, there is nothing I want to speculate about now.

I think it's an honor every time I put on the national team jersey, I say neither bu nor bä, she says.

When there was no Olympics, she went to Norway and trained for two weeks with her old goalkeeping coach from Brynäs Pecka Alcén, now in Lillehammer.

After that, she trained with former Luleå coach Fredrik Glader's men's team in Halden.

- I went away for a few weeks and trained hard to let go of everything.

I have longed to play important matches, the Olympics was something I had been looking forward to and wanted to go on so it has made me a little extra tagged.

Now she is playing big in the Swedish Championship play-offs, kept a clean sheet on Sunday when Luleå defeated Brynäs away and can on Tuesday night celebrate her third Swedish Championship gold.

A sensational development as Brynäs has been a big gold favorite after his superior series victory at the same time as Luleå mixed and gave during the season.

- We know what we have within the group and what we can do.

Then we have had a season where it has gone a bit up and down, but somewhere we know that when these important matches come, we will turn on.

I still think we have more to give, we played incredibly good defensive games (on Sunday), but in the future we have to create a little more, she says.