Ace shooter Abhinav Bindra on Saturday hailed six time world champion Mary Kom after her 9-1 split decision victory against boxer Nikhat Zareen in the final round of 51 kg womenโ€™s boxing trials for Tokyo Olympic Qualifiers.

Bindra wished good luck to โ€˜great championโ€™ Mary as she will now be representing India at the Tokyo Olympic Qualifiers in Wuhan, China in February next year.

Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!

In a tweet, Bindra stated:

โ€˜The great thing about sports is you constantly have to prove yourself. You constantly have to go out there and do it, day in and day out. Well done @MangteC. You are a great champion, good luck in Tokyo!โ€™

Also read: Respect begets respect: Mary Kom

Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!

It may be mentioned that Bindra had earlier supported Zareenโ€™s request to the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) for a trial bout against Mary, writing on Twitter that โ€œan athleteโ€™s life is an offering of proofโ€.

โ€œWhile I have all the respect for Marykom, Fact is, an athleteโ€™s life is an offering of proof. Proof that we can be as good as yesterday. Better than yesterday. Better than tomorrows man /woman. In sport, yesterday NEVER counts,โ€ Bindra had written on Twitter.

Also read: Manipur: Mary Kom defeats Zareen; makes to Olympics

However, Mary had lashed at Bindra saying โ€˜it is not his businessโ€™.

She had also said the star India shooter should not get involved in boxing as he is not well versed about the rules of the sport.