Never say die. That is Deepak Bhoria's attitude for you.

The boxer from Hisar in Haryana clinched a bronze at the just-concluded World Boxing Championships in Tashkent, thereby becoming one of only 10 male boxers from the country to win a medal at the prestigious tournament.

But Deepak's path to success has been far from easy. He has had to overcome financial struggles and injury setbacks, the latest being an injury to his right shoulder in 2022 which kept him out of competition for over a year.

But he bounced back and how! Enjoying the accolades pouring his way, the 51 kg 26-year-old boxer talks about the world championships, his attitude to life and his future plans.

"The world championships were a great learning experience," Deepak told The Telegraph after his return. "Each bout that I took part in and each match that I watched the others compete in, I learnt something new. By watching the tactics employed by the other boxers, observing the way the judges did the judging and noticing the patterns of scoring, I identified things I can try out.

"Particularly a meet of the standard of the world championships brings a lot of things to incorporate. It will be a big help for my forthcoming tournaments."

Deepak upstaged Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist and 2021 world champion Saken Bibossinov 5-2 in the second round in Tashkent.

Was Bibossinov his toughest opponent at the world championships?

"Any boxer against whom I haven't competed before is tough," said Deepak. "I have to make plans for each boxer separately as they too come armed with plans for me," he added.

Deepak had suffered a fracture to his right hand a few years back. And then again, the shoulder injury blow last year that kept him out of competitions for long.

How did he motivate himself to come back from such a difficult situation?

"The biggest factor here is patience. I was out of competition for more than a year. At that point in time I kept telling myself that muhje Olympics khelna hain. I worked hard to not let my focus waver. Keeping the Asian Games, the Olympics in mind, I did my rehab.

"That and the support from others worked. On the physical level, I worked extensively with the physios. And I managed to come back."

Deepak speaks highly of the new foreign coach Dmitry Dmitruk. "He has a different way of working. He makes us work on feints. Sits down with the boxers and talks to them, discusses with them. So the player-coach combo works well."

Against Zoirov, Deepak's most lethal weapon was his left hook and the army man revealed it was Dmitruk's suggestion to use it in a combination move.

"My left has always been good but in the second bout, the coach told me that when I am hitting with the right, the opponent is moving back. So I should add a left (hook), that will hurt him. I did and it helped," Deepak said.

The world championships done and dusted, Deepak's eyes are for now firmly set on the Asian Games from where he hopes to bring back a medal of a brighter hue.