GLASGOW 2014 isn't a shiny happy memory for absolutely everyone. Many participants gush with pride when they think back to events in the city 12 months ago but, as he prepares to compete at the Emirates Arena today in the European Open, Patrick Dawson relives his involvement as though it were a form of therapy.

While the rest of Team Scotland's judo stars were carried high out of the SECC in triumph, Dawson's hopes of silverware lasted just 20 seconds of his bronze medal match against Jake Bensted of Australia. He slunk out away from the venue feeling rather sorry for himself, at least until some personal tragedy put things in perspective. No sooner was Dawson off the mat before his coach Billy Cusack informed him that his father had passed away earlier that day but he had been so committed to the performances of his charges that day that he hadn't thought to mention it.

"Judo is a sport where you can lose in five seconds," said Dawson. "It was probably one of the worst days of my life but in saying that, I’d say that every time I’ve ever lost. When you put everything into winning, it’s horrible but it happens. I watched people who had lost in the Olympics at London doing an interview afterwards but I just had nothing to say on that day. The second I stood up from being thrown, I knew in my mind what I needed to do. Accept it. But also never accept it.

"My coach Billy [Cusack] never said a word to me about it," he added. "But it was bittersweet time even for the guys who won because Billy’s father, who we all knew very well, died. He came out and coached Sarah Clark and myself after he’d passed away but he didn’t tell any one who was fighting. The second I got off the mat, he told me. I went to talk to my parents and get some food and they said: ‘are you okay?’ I said: ‘I’m fine because you two are alive and nothing’s happened'. 'Billy’s dad just died'."

The Edinburgh judoka's fortunes haven't improved so much in the interim. A tear to the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee sustained in the dojo in training has kept him out for a year, but with a bit of help from renowned surgeon Gordon McKay, the joint is "starting to get to the point where it feels I’ve got my old knee back". There was a recent six week stint in Japan, including some time at the spiritual home of martial arts at the Kodokan insitute in Tokyo, which has hot-housed him in the discipline.

“You take the iPad with you and that’s it," said Dawson. "Judo. Internet. Eating. Sleeping. You get into a rut life-wise and then you get Sunday off. You think: ‘I should go and see something but I’m sore and I’ve got judo again in the morning.’ So you have to push yourself to get out there and see some of Japan. But you reap the rewards from training there."

While he is far from giving up on Rio just yet, qualification presents a challenge simply due to the time lost with injury, and the subsequent effect on his rankings. The Olympics themselves, of course, will be out in Tokyo in 2020, by which time Dawson will be 31. Martial artists are likely to be the superstars of the games.

“To go to an Olympics in Tokyo would be special, it’s where judo is from and the Japanese will go nuts for it," said Dawson. "But at the same time, an Olympics is an Olympics so if I get the opportunity to go to Rio, it’s no different. That has been my aspiration from the day I stepped on a mat. I came to this late [aged 17]," he added. "I walked into a judo club and saw Euan Burton, Sarah Clark, James Millar and thought ‘I want what they’ve got.’ I got some pastings starting out.

"I’m hovering around the top 100 so I’ve got a bit of work to do to get into the top 22 [for Rio qualification]," he added. "Before the injury, I was in a good position and maintaining that would have been less difficult. But if I recreate what I did before, there’s no reason I won’t have a shot."

A special mention goes to Burton, the Glasgow 2014 flag bearer and gold medalist, who is now lead coach at the sport's high performance centre in Ratho, for showing him the ropes. "Before Euan retired, we trained together," said Dawson. "So I was used to him throwing me around a lot. But I did that to him as well. The first time I did it, he’d just got a bronze at the world championships and made a sign with his hands in celebration. So I did the same after I beat him ... I paid for it about three seconds later."