If one thought the on-now, off-now drama surrounding Nigeria was a thing of the past, the organisers of the second Commonwealth Volleyball Championships got a pleasant shock when the African team arrived here on Tuesday morning.
After having scratched the runners-up of the inaugural edition from the tournament on Monday, the organisers included them on compassionate grounds, after the consent of the participating teams, on Tuesday.
Confirming the new developments, Competition Director A Ramana Rao said, “With them having come all the way and spent over 40 hours travelling, we decided to include them. It is a special case.
“They had taken part in the All-Africa Games in Algeria and were unfortunate to miss their flight. They took the next available flight out of Nairobi.
"The secretary-general of the Nigerian Volleyball Federation was also in the same group. That probably explains the lack of communication from them since Sunday evening," Rao explained.
Rao added that this is the first time a team that has been scratched has been reinstated.
"One of the team members called us at 3.30 in the morning from Mumbai after their arrival," said Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti, Working Chairman, Organising Committee.
"This being an invitation tournament, we were only too happy when they arrived this morning."
While an FIVB penalty would have been a fine of $5,000 and a two-year suspension, the penalty for the Nigerians here is to play four matches in three days.
With Nigeria back in the fold, Group A is still wide open. India and Australia, with two wins apiece, still have to win another match to book their berth in the semifinals.