Aruna Quadri expressed the difficulty of accepting his defeat to Omar Assar in the men’s single table tennis final at the African Games in Accra.

Despite making his fourth appearance at the Games since 2011, Quadri, the African top-ranked player, has yet to secure a gold medal.

His hopes of clinching the elusive victory were dashed in a closely contested match against the Egyptian, resulting in a 3-4 defeat.

“It’s really hard and tough. But of course, we keep fighting and fighting. It’s not about winning all the time, it’s about sportsmanship,” Quadri said.

“This is why we are professionals; this is what we are made to do. It’s always a very difficult match; it shows that the level of the competition is actually improving.”