Doug Gillon on Wednesday: When Sarah Clark came off the mat after defeat in the opening round of the Olympic judo tournament, it was almost impossible to measure her despair.

When Sarah Clark came off the mat after defeat in the opening round of the Olympic judo tournament, it was almost impossible to measure her despair. Eliminated when she had been in front with less than 20 seconds left, a lifetime goal, into which she had poured years of effort and sacrifice, lay in ruins.

"I walked through the back, satdown, and I was so upset," she recalled yesterday. "I said to her coach Billy Cusack: I've had it; I've had enough.' But almost immediately, that day, I thought: There's too much gone into it to get nothing back out.' "

And so she was on the mat at Ratho's national judo training centre yesterday, preparing for the World Championships in Rotterdam, determined to continue.

She has come down from 63kilogrammes to 57kg, and has already beaten the Olympic champion at the lower weight. She won silver at the European Championships last month and isthe only female Great Britain player pre-selected for the world event at the end of August.

Yet she is part of another fight, for the future of the Ratho centre. It was a Team GB training camp before the Beijing Olympics, but JudoScotland is locked in a battle to ensure the UK governing body continues to recognise its contribution. They fear Scotland's 2014 aspirations could be compromised by those of London 2012.

A delicate balancing act is fully supported by sportscotland, who yesterday announced investment of £414,940 to launch their six-year strategic plan for the Glasgow2014Commonwealth Games. This is £160,000 more than last year, and is in addition to £200,000worth of services annually from the institute of sport.

Three significant coaching appointments are on hand, plus a new talent scheme which will give every Scottish nine and 10-year-old the opportunity to try the sport.

Central to all of this, though, is thecontinued status of Ratho. It could scarcely have a more eloquent and informed spokesman: Graeme Randall, national high performance head coach and the former world 81kg champion.

In January, British Judo appointed a new head coach, the world and European medallist Patrick Roux. The Frenchman wants a centralised programme for all elite players at Dartford. "One medal in the past three Olympics doesn't make very pleasant reading," says Randall, "so, after Beijing, we always knew something radical would happen.

"But Ratho's status is something we're slightly concerned about. We've run a significant programme here for a several years. After London 2012, we've got the Commonwealth Games two years later. The last thing we want is to come back from that programme and find it difficult to prepare for Glasgow 2014.

"We've been in negotiations with British Judo and, at the moment, we've been awarded a reprieve inprincipal. Scottish athletes can remain in Scotland and train under our programme but it will be much more closely aligned with British Judo. They want to be more in control on a daily basis, and more accountable for performances. Deadlines and targets are part of negotiations we're in now.

"We're still awaiting formal notice. We're undergoing significant enhancement of facilities at Ratho: a larger dojo gym for the athletes. We're relocating offices within the building, installing five new strength and conditioning platforms.

"It's all part of a more integrated approach to minimise the risk of failure in 2014. It's being done by sportscotland, but Edinburgh Council are supporting the facility."

Glasgow will be only the third appearance of judo on the Games programme after Auckland 1990, and Manchester 2002 where Randall won 81k gold.

"Scots training in England would be okay if there weren't a Commonwealth Games, because the people our guys train with are going to be their rivals as well: the opposition come 2014. So we need a partnership where we work with them, but don't jeopardise our own medal success. It's a very fine line. It's quite a political game we're playing.

"A Scottish governing body working with a GB body - there's always going to be a difference in the targets and methodology in achieving them. Scotland has some of the best coaches and judo athletes in Britain. We want to nurture that, and look after their best interests. And the way we see that happening is in partnership with British Judo."

Clark, from South Shields but with long-adopted Scottish nationality is currently the best of these. "She's a world-class player; she now needs to deliver a world-class result," says Randall. "From the evidence we have seen, the move to 57k is going to be a winner for her."

That switch was taken only after extensive checks "on bone density, body mass, body fat, muscle density, to see if it was possible", she says.

"I talked about dropping down before but, when I won the European 63kg title in 2006, it was dismissed completely. After Beijing, feeling I'd something left and wasn't just clutching at straws, I got special advice from the nutritionist Dr Adam Carey, from Celebrity Fit Club, and decided to have a go.

"Any cravings? Yeah, everything! When I was at 63kg, I never felt hungry. Now I want to eat everything, but I think, Is that going to help me? Or am I just going to have to run for another hour, or do another hour's cycling?

"If I do have something bad, it has to be really nice. There's no point having a crap biscuit. I'm not doing half an hour on the bike for that . . .

"Christmas Day was the only time I've eaten what I wanted since last autumn - just one normal day - but I can't help thinking about it all the time."