SALLY Conway will be halfway to Naples by the time the European Judo Open gets under way at Glasgow's Emirates Arena today. The 29-year-old, whose bronze medal in the -70kg category this summer made her Scotland's first-ever Olympic medal winner in the sport and the only Team GB judoka to return from Rio with a medal, will miss the event as she jets out to Italy for a holiday to mark a friend's 30th birthday. While sipping Prosecco and staring out at the Tyrrhenian Sea seems a far more civilised way of spending your weekend than grappling away grimly on the ground in the East End of Glasgow, the combative Conway is secretly gutted about the schedule clash.

"I am flying out to Naples so I am missing the event which I am gutted about," said Conway, part of the Judo Scotland practice group in Ratho, Edinburgh. "It would have been great to see all my friends and everyone from British judo, and just to be up there competing, but I am sure I will be able to follow it all on Twitter. Hopefully it will feel like I am there without actually being there!"

Conway, who also won bronze at Glasgow 2014, may be absent, but another one of Scotland's Commonwealth Games heroines will thankfully be back amongst the fold. Stephanie Inglis, a silver medalist back in 2014, spent three weeks in a medically-induced coma in a hospital in Vietnam this summer after being victim of a road traffic accident whilst seated on the back of a motorcycle taxi.

Her peers in the judo community and elsewhere quickly initiated an online fundraising campaign in her honour, raising in excess of £320,000 to pay for her treatment. Stephanie - who has spoken of returning to the sport at some point - and her family will be attending this Saturday as guests of the British Judo Association, where she will be assured of a hero's welcome. "That is brilliant news," said Conway. "It will be great for Steph to get back in there to support all her friends and just enjoy the judo."

From flag bearer Euan Burton onwards, judo was front and centre stage at Glasgow 2014, as the hosts won six gold and 13 medals in all, enough to equal England in both categories. The focus on Saturday will fall on the next generation of Scottish talents such as Valentino Volante and Malin Wilson. Conway believes the event will prove invaluable.

"There's a lot of younger talent there, and this is a time where whatever you have been working on in training you try to take it into the competition on the day," said Conway. "It is one thing to work on things, another to take it into a competition environment. Just go and enjoy it as well. Especially for Scottish and British competitors it is great to get that experience of performing in front of a home crowd. It will just be buzzing in there.

"There are points up for grabs which will help you get further up the rankings but there is no money involved," she added. "But mainly it is a chance to gain experience and improve performances. Sam Ingram is running a masterclass at the event today too, so if there any kids out there who fancy giving it a go it will be a great opportunity for them to go along."

Conway's excursion to Italy comes on the back of a three-week holiday in Thailand with pals including another Commonwealth Games medalist Connie Ramsay. As Ramsay is now trying her hand at boxing, the trip included a first-hand look at the Muay Thai version.

"Since I won the medal on August 10 it has been crazy," said Conway. "Nothing you can do can prepare you for what will happen when you win an Olympic medal. Going to parties, awards dinners, school visits, talking about my journey and my story and hopefully this can inspire kids. So it was nice to be able to go to Thailand for three weeks, probably the longest break I have ever been on. It was nice to chill out, do things that I haven't been able to do. But it was interesting to go along to see how they go about it, their rituals. There is a kind of relationship between all of the marital arts."

Conway should enjoy her downtime while it lasts. Because as of next Monday, when she returns from Italy, it will be all systems go. "As for next year, I have a meeting with British judo a week on Monday, from then I will know what the plan is going forward. That is when it is back to reality. "

Adding to her medal collection in Tokyo, the spiritual home of judo, in the summer of 2020 would be some way to sign out. "Obviously the Olympics is still four years away so I just want to take it one year at a time and work away towards these little goals," she said. "I think I am good enough to get a world and European medal so I have got goals to kind of go towards. I will assess whether my body is still in good shape. If I am, and I am still enjoying it, it will be full steam ahead and trying to qualify for Tokyo 2020."