23-year-old Johanna Magnusson is together with Clara Nistad Sweden's highest ranked double pair in badminton and recently reached the quarterfinals at the European Championships in Madrid.

But their investment now takes place without financial support from the Badminton Association.

- I moved to Uppsala last summer because I would play with Clara Nistad who trains in Uppsala.

I did not know anyone there.

Eventually I started to feel very bad and did not enjoy either training or in the group, says Magnusson.

Among other things, she felt that the level of training or leadership did not live up to her expectations.

"Get no support at all anymore"

At New Year's, she moved home to Malmö and the home club Aura.

- Then I was expelled from the national team activities and the Badminton Association stopped supporting me.

I was removed from everything you could say.

The only thing left is that I can be selected for the championship, and then travel and accommodation get paid, but otherwise I get no support at all anymore for my bet. 

What do you think about it?

- I'm very shocked.

It felt very hard to just take me away without understanding my feeling or how I felt.

And how they have handled everything.

They supported me to contact a psychologist but we never discussed why I felt bad.

The requirement: must live in Uppsala

The elite center in Uppsala, called Eurocenter, has been there since 2014, before that it was in Malmö.

The idea is to gather Sweden's best badminton players in an elite program where they receive sparring, training conditions and financial compensation via the elite support.

And from this year into the coming season 2022/2023, it is a requirement from the association that players must belong to the elite program in Uppsala to receive elite support.

This is confirmed by sports director Per-Henrik Croona to SVT Sport.

- My view is that it is very hard.

I am such a good player in Sweden and abroad, so you should be able to set different requirements and different rules, I think.

But apparently it is so strict that everyone who is in Uppsala gets support and everyone else does not get it, says Magnusson.

Chairman left in protest

Clara Nistad, with whom Magnusson plays, has also lost her elite support despite training in Uppsala, as she has chosen to continue her venture with Magnusson.

The situation has led to a split within the Badminton Association.

In March, then-chairman Tommy Theorin chose to leave the board in protest of how Magnusson and Nistad have been treated.

- I could not stand behind it.

I explained that this just needs to be resolved: this is our internationally viable couple.

But it did not win a hearing in the board or with the sports director in Uppsala and then I chose to leave the post as chairman.

That is the big reason I left, says Tommy Theorin to SVT Sport.