Nigerians late arrival changes schedule again

Chinthana Wasantha reporting from India

VOLLEYBAL: Nigeria made their appearance yesterday for the Commonwealth Volleyball Championship after they were officially declared that they are out of the tournament by the Tournament Committee. The match schedule was revised two times before because of their delay and yet again the organizers decided to bring them in.

According to the Nigerian officials, they had landed in Mumbai two days ago but they could not make it to Kolkuta due to delay of flights caused by the bad weather.

However they had been unable to contact the Kolkuta officials to inform about the real situation before arriving in Kolkuta last morning. So the third revised match schedule had declared and accordingy Nigeria played their first match in the tournament against the Bangladeshis.

It is questionable as to whether it is right to bring back a team for the tournament after they were officially declared as non competitors of the tournament three days ago. In an international event of this nature, they have to be a more strict and should not change the schedule day by day which will definitely affect the form of the players.

Sri Lanka had to play against the mighty Indians yesterday after they were informed of a second revised match schedule just few hours before the game.

South Africa beat New Zealand 3-0

South Africa after a strong set back came up strongly against New Zealand in their second appearance and defeated them in straight sets 25-19, 25-21, 25-22.

South Africans who made their first match a sucsess over Canada in a tough battle of 3-2, showed their excellance in yesterday’s game too with an impressive movements and blocking. Canada also looked excellent but the lack of teamwork did turn the game away from them.

Canada lose to Pakistan

In the second game of the day, Pakistan was stronger in front of the Canadians as they won 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 16-25, 25-16). A tough battle went on for the first two sets which Pakistan did not win easily. The third set was taken away by the Canadians and the fourth set was secured by the Pakistanis at 25-16.

Canadian head coach Laplante Georges stated that they came to the tournament with high hopes. ‘We have only been together for three weeks. We do not get much of international exposure but in the future it is going to be changed. We are here not only for the participation but to win’ said Laplante. ‘We are going to work hard on the upcomming games’.

Nigeria

Bangladesh won their game against Nigeria in a straight sets. Nigerians who made their appearance in the tournament though failed to win a set played brilliantly to force the Bangladeshis to fight all the way for their victory 30-28, 25-16, 25-23. The task was not easy for the Bangladeshis from the beginning itself at the newcomers looked brilliant when it came to blocking and placing the ball.

The first set was a real thriller as the set went on for 30-28 in favour of the Bangladeshis. The Bangladesh team looked more active and energetic than on the previous day. The first set grabbed the minds of all the spectators who were present at the Nethaji Stadium.

The next exiting moment was the last part of the game which most spectators feared that the same thing would repeat as in the first set. But at last Bangladeshis teamed up well and finished the set at 25-23.

After the match the Nigerian coach, I. Francis said that they would do better in the next games to come. ‘We are happy of today’s performances. We only arrived this morning and gave a good fight in the match after few hours. If we had more time, we would have done better.’