"IS it weird that I like Disney more than a six year old?" The text, accompanied by a winking Mickey Mouse, was cheerily re-tweeted by Stephanie Inglis late last year.

"Yup! Sums me up," she added, lest anyone be in any doubt about her fondness for the animation franchise.

"I'm a massive fan and have been a few times to the parks although I didn't go for the first time until I was 16," she reveals from a cafe inside the Emirates Arena earlier this week. "My family are huge Disney fans and one of my aunties has a timeshare [near Disneyworld] so she gets cheaper accommodation. She's been 26 times - maybe one day I'll have been that many as well. I'm just a big kid."

Inglis is 26 years old, petite, blonde and softly-spoken. In her spare time she likes playing the piano. She also throws, strangles and grapples with people for a living. Inglis is a professional judoka and a good one at that. Her fighting record - that includes a silver medal won at last year's Commonwealth Games - can testify to that. Her friendly demeanour is disarming but only a fool would dismiss her for a soft touch. Underneath the surface there is a steely determination that underpins her every move. "If your dreams don't scare you, then they aren't big enough," is a favoured motto, a theme she regularly expands on in person. She is not someone who could ever be accused of lacking ambition.

Late in 2014, Inglis, originally from Inverness but now domiciled in Dunfermline, succumbed to that most frustrating of occupational hazards; injury. A knee strain has denied her a competitive appearance this year but has done little to distract her from the bigger picture.

She has a bit of work to do if she is to realise her ambition of qualifying for next summer's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro but will not stint in her endeavour. Ranked 56th in the world in the under-57kg category (just under nine stone in old money), Inglis must reach the top 14 in the world if she is to be on the plane for Brazil. Ideally she will return from her injury to compete at the forthcoming European Championships in Glasgow - "there is still a chance I could make it - never say never" - but failing that she will spend the remainder of the year criss-crossing the globe in a bid to pick up as many ranking points as possible.

"Trying to qualify for Rio is the main focus just now," said Inglis who is also working her way through an MSc in International Business. "Qualifying ends in May next year so I'm just trying to get my knee better, get back competing, and try to get as many results and points as possible. There are so many tournaments in judo so even though I'm out at the moment there is still a good chance to come back and make up for lost time. So I'm not feeling too down that this is going to interrupt my chances of making it to Rio.

"I'm 56th in the world right now but towards the end of the year I want to push into the top 30. Then next year I just want to do as many competitions as I can to try to push into the top 14 bracket for Rio. Any kind of good result can change your placing. A bronze or fifth place can give you enough points to move up 20 places at a time."

Like many of her fellow Scottish judoka, the Commonwealth Games was a watershed moment in her career, the following months delivering respect and recognition like never before. "A lot of people come up to you and ask for a photo or your autograph which is quite funny. I do a lot of school visits and it's always great to see the kids' faces when you go in to talk to them. It's nice getting some recognition and hopefully you can help inspire others. Winning a medal at the Games is the highlight of my career so far." Hopefully for Inglis it Disney all end there....

- The European Championships will be held in the Emirates Arena, Glasgow from April 9-12. Tickets are available from www.eurojudo2015/com/tickets