Victoria's clumsy and expensive disposal of Commonwealth Games hosting rights sparked little hope among Australian athletes, unless you happen to be a judoka.
When Victoria drew up grand plans for the 2026 Games, expanding the event to be a 21-sport extravaganza spread out across five regional bases in the state, there was no room for judo.
It was a bitter blow for the sport.
Especially after Birmingham 2022 had been Australia's greatest ever Games from a judo perspective, with 11 athletes bringing home two golds among a 10-medal haul.
Victoria's shock withdrawal was followed by major concerns about whether the 2026 Games would go ahead, but a sliver of hope slowly but surely grew among Australia's judo community.
It eventually made the cut in Glasgow's streamlined 10-sport program, ahead of the likes of rugby sevens and cricket.
Victorian Tinka Easton, who won Australia's first gold medal in the sport since the 2002 Manchester Games when she prevailed in Birmingham, was thrilled.
"I remember not long before the announcement, my coaches and I had kind of been joking about it, 'oh maybe judo will be back'," Easton told AAP after being picked on Australia's team.
"Then two days later it was.
"I guess I wasn't as emotional as others when the Victoria Games were cancelled.
"Having a home Games, lots of us thought judo would definitely be in because we won so many medals (in Birmingham), almost as many as we could given the number of people on the team. So that was really disappointing.
"Great Britain is very strong at judo, that definitely gave it a push to be in Glasgow. They're using the same arena as they did in 2014, it was very exciting when it got announced."
The 30-year-old has fond memories of staying up late to watch Chloe Rayner claim a bronze medal at the 2014 Games, rather than studying for HSC trial exams.
Easton will attempt to defend her Commonwealth Games crown in the women's 52kg division on day one of the judo action in Glasgow.
"A lot of emotions around it, it was an amazing experience," Easton said of winning gold in 2022.
Aoife Coughlan grew up in Gippsland and will defend her 70kg title in Glasgow, where both her and sister Maeve will compete on day two of the judo program.
Aoife is determined to make the most of her sport's "second chance".
"It (winning in Birmingham) is definitely a moment that will stand out, looking at my whole career when I retire. I'm hoping I can back it up," the two-time Olympian said.
This AAP article was made possible by support from Commonwealth Games Australia.
