Nada Laaraj of Morocco won the women's under-57kg gold medal at the African Games ©Getty Images

Hosts Morocco topped the African Games taekwondo medal table as the sport's popularity was showcased in Rabat this week.

A total of 246 athletes represented 40 countries in the competition, as Morocco claimed five gold medals, one silver and one bronze.

Ivory Coast collected three gold, two silver and five bronze medals for second place in the table. 

The Egyptian team won two gold medals, eight silver and one bronze, to finish third.

Nada Laaraj claimed the women's under-57 kilograms title for Morocco, with team-mate Safia Salih winning the under-62kg category.

In the women's under-73kg there was glory for compatriot Fatima-Ezzhara Aboufaras, who defeated Wanjiku Ogallo of Kenya in the gold-medal match.

Omar Lakehal defeated Issa Diakite in the men's under-58kg final as Morocco won gold and silver.

Cheick Sallah Cissé of the Ivory Coast won the men's under-80kg gold to retain his African Games title ©Getty Images
Cheick Sallah Cissé of the Ivory Coast won the men's under-80kg gold to retain his African Games title ©Getty Images

Soukaina Sahib won gold by defeating Michelle Tau of Lesotho in the women's under-46kg final.

Elsewhere, world champion and number one seed Abdoulrazak Issoufou Alfaga of Niger Republic retained his African men's heavyweight title, defeating Egypt's Abdelrahman Darwish 17–2 in the finals.

Nigeria's Benjamin Okuomose and Gabon's Anthony Obame settled for the bronze medals.

African Games taekwondo champion Cheick Sallah Cissé retained his men's under-80kg division title.

The 25-year-old Ivorian added gold to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games victory and his African Games triumph four years ago in Brazzaville.