Trust, faith and compassion. These are the attributes Asa Weithers and his coach Ian have shown to the world before the world number 226 has even stepped on the tatami of the sport’s elite at the Brasilia Grand Slam.

Ian and Asa are not your standard judoka and coach partnership, but they are father and son, united by their pride in representing the small island nation of Barbados and their devotion to judo.

The 24-year-old is a young man with a dream that centres around five interlocking rings, coloured blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white field.

Father Ian has been consumed by judo in the Caribbean nation since he first practiced the sport nearly 40 years ago.

“My mum’s friend did judo and said that her boys should try the sport,” said the approachable 54-year-old.

“This was in 1970 and at the time we had one main club on the island.

“When I was coming through the ranks funding was already our main challenge as I managed one trip abroad to Martinique to compete when I was 12 years old.

“Teddy Cummings was the founder of judo in Barbados and many young people actually started to practice judo on our beaches.

“We’ve had many foreign visitors over the years with high-level judo experience and they have helped us a lot.

“I took over his club, Marine Gardens Judo Club in the 90s after he passed away, and I was fortunate to spend some time abroad to learn all the areas of coaching thanks to Olympic solidarity funding.

“I went to the USA and Hungary and it was a real eye-opener for me. Barbados Judo Association President Caddle Hoskins has also spent some time abroad and was in Canada for many years and so he is able to put in place some ideas and practices he learned there as well as a development plan for our future.

“Four judoka have gone to the Olympics for Barbados and I hope that this young man next to me will be our fifth.

“Finances are the main challenge for us. We rely on donations and we have to self-fund for a lot of events that are often very far away from our continent.

“It’s a challenge but judo is what brings our family together. My wife has done judo and is now our club administrator, my daughter went to the 2007 World Championships in Rio de Janerio and now she’s teaching children.”

Asa, who was in action at the Commonwealth Championships in Walsall, England, two weeks ago, lost out on Monday morning to Brazil-born Nacif ELIAS (LBN) in his opening contest in Brasilia but made the Olympian work hard for his victory.