IT was always going to be wishful thinking that the warm, fuzzy feeling that encircled Glasgow like a hug during the Commonwealth Games would endure once the event had concluded.

Fast-forward a month and many of those who shared the sporting experiences that had made the event so special were at each other's throats as the run-in to the independence referendum became increasingly heated and divisive.

Any legacy, then, of the Games is not to be found in the spectators who cherished every moment before getting on with their lives once more, but in the various minority sports and their athletes who emerged from relative obscurity to land with a spectacular thump on a nation's collective consciousness thanks to a raft of medal-winning displays.

No sport made a greater impact than judo. When in 2008 the governing body Judo Scotland set out its targets for the 2014 Games, the aim was five or six medals.

Instead, by the end of the third day of competition there were 13 beaming Scottish judoka proudly holding up medals, six of them gold. It was arguably the greatest Scottish success story of the entire Games.

Competitive judo, then, returned to Glasgow yesterday with something of a swagger, its reputation enhanced. The main event of the women's European Open at the Emirates Arena featured more than 80 elite judoka from all over the world competing for medals and world ranking points that would enhance their prospects of reaching the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in two years' time.

Alongside that, however, there was an opportunity to harness the heightened interest in the sport, to draw in youngsters eager to emulate the heroes they watched collect medals at the Games and give them the chance to take the first steps on a path that could eventually lead them to the same destination.

The organisers did not waste the moment. There was a coaching session featuring around 100 enthusiastic young judoka hosted by gold medallist Euan Burton, a Mad About Judo area where younger children could learn about physical literacy, as well as opportunities to collect autographs and pose for group selfies with the likes of Gemma Gibbons and Kimberley Renicks.

Measuring legacies is always an imprecise science, and often it can take years for the impact to be truly felt, but there is hope among the judo community that the impact of their success at the Games will prove to be lasting.

"After watching the judo on the television in the summer, a group of about 30 girls decided they would start up their own club not far from here in Glasgow's east end," said Douglas Bryce, chief executive of Judo Scotland. "Many of them are here today, volunteering or in some other capacity, and that's great to see."

Bryce's hope is that judo will soon become a popular alternative to sports like gymnastics for parents wanting their young children to become more active. "It combines so many different things: fitness, conditioning, discipline, agility, flexibility, co-ordination, power and grace," he added.

Among the crowd yesterday and offering very vocal encouragement to her former team-mates was Sarah Clark. Now retired after collecting gold at the Games, she was similarly hopeful that judo could take advantage of its moment under the spotlight. "I think a legacy is generating an interest that keeps going," she said. "We need to keep that momentum building. It's little steps, but you want to capitalise on what happened at the Commonwealth Games, even if it takes a while to see the rewards."

There was home success for the crowd to enjoy at yesterday's event. Sally Conway made a golden return to claim the Under-70kg title. Ten weeks after the disappointment of winning only bronze at the Commonwealth Games, there was no slip-up this time. The victory was all the sweeter as she defeated Italian Jennifer Pitzanti in the final by yuko and waza-ari. Pitzanti had beaten the Edinburgh judoka at the World Championships in Russia in August.

"Anyone who fights in the Commonwealth Games wants to come out with a gold medal," she said. "In my last couple of tournaments, I feel I haven't performed as I can perform so to come here today and put what I've worked on in training into a match situation has been great."

Tain's Connie Ramsay took Great Britain's first medal of the event when she won bronze in the Under-57kg event after beating Italian Anna Righetti in golden score, when her opponent picked up a penalty.

"It was pretty tough going, but sometimes you just have to keep fighting and fighting and the stronger person wins," she said.

"It's having the mentality as well. I felt stronger and fitter than the girl and I knew if I kept my composure - something I've been working on - then I could win."

Penicuik's Jodie Mullen fought her way to a bronze-medal match in the Under-63kg but lost to German Nadia Bazynski.

England's Gemma Howell, who missed the Commonwealth Games through injury, struck gold when she beat Sweden's Emma Barkeling by shido in the final.