Paul Drinkhall has put his European Games semi-final exit at the hands of Dimitrij Ovtcharov down to a "lack of experience".
The Team GB competitor missed out on a chance of progressing through to the gold-medal final in Baku, after letting a one-game lead slip to eventually fall 4-2 to the European number one.
Despite the disappointment of missing out on at least a silver, Drinkhall must now pick himself up prior to this afternoon's bronze-medal match against Lei Kou.
"Two games to one up and 4-1 in the fourth was my chance to go on and win but he's a great player," he told reporters when asked about today's Ovtcharov defeat.
"There's possibly some lack of experience on my side and his experience of how to handle those moments. I made a couple of easy mistakes and he ran away with it, and it allowed him to settle.
"Getting a medal would be great for the confidence going into Rio 2016. It doesn't mean exactly that all the work has paid off, but it puts a smile on your face. Hopefully I'll still get one."
Drinkhall won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the mixed doubles event.
Daniel Lewis
