Deepak Bhoria wins bronze in 51kg category at World Boxing Championships

Deepak went down to Billal Bennama in a closely-contested semifinal bout which the Frenchman won via split decision after a bout review.

Published : May 12, 2023 19:16 IST , CHENNAI - 2 MINS READ

FILE PHOTO: Deepak Bhoria (red) won bronze medal in 51kg category at Men’s World Boxing Championships on Friday.
FILE PHOTO: Deepak Bhoria (red) won bronze medal in 51kg category at Men’s World Boxing Championships on Friday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
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FILE PHOTO: Deepak Bhoria (red) won bronze medal in 51kg category at Men’s World Boxing Championships on Friday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

India’s Deepak Bhoria finished his campaign at the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Friday with a bronze medal in the 51kg category.

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Deepak went down to Billal Bennama in a closely-contested semifinal bout which the Frenchman won via split decision after a bout review.

Earlier in the day, Mohammed Hussamuddin also took bronze in the 57kg category as he was forced to give walkover due to Horta Rodriguez Del-Rey of Cuba in the semifinals due to a knee injury.

Nishant Dev faces Kazakhstan’s Aslanbek Shymbergenov in the 71kg semifinals later.

Deepak Bhoria’s background

In 2008, when Deepak was just an 11-year-old, he started boxing at the insistence of his uncle. His father was a constable and his mother, a homemaker, who also worked in the farms. Life was never easy. In 2009, due to dire financial constraints, young Deepak was forced to quit boxing as he couldn’t afford the expenses on diet and training, all crucial towards quality physical and mental training.

While his chances of becoming a boxer looking bleak, Deepak’s coach Rajesh Sheoran helped him back into the ring. He helped him by paying his diet and training expenses.

In 2011, when everything seemed to move smoothly, Deepak faced another obstacle when he suffered a career-threatening fracture to his right hand. The fracture continued to trouble him for almost two years before he underwent surgery.

Despite the setback, the injury changed Deepak’s perspectives on the discipline. While he was unable to move his right hand, he slowly strengthened his left hand which he says helped him a lot now as he is equally deft to fighting with both hands.

His individual struggles coincided with boxing as a sport going through a hard time with a dearth of competitions. Deepak’s financial situation also did not see much improvement with the pugilist even becoming a newspaper vendor to sustain himself.

2016 proved to a turning point for the man as he joined Madras Engineering Group, Bangalore. Later that year, he also was selected by the Army Sports Institute, Pune. With the finances handled, Deepak’s career saw an upswing. He won gold at the 2018 Senior National Championship and the 2019 Makran Cup on international debut.

Deepak carried that confidence into the 2019 Asian Boxing Championships and stormed into the final. He had to settle for silver in a tight match that went in favour of Nodirjon Mirzakhmedov of Uzbekistan 3-2.

He announced himself on the global stage in 2021 when he defeated the 2016 Rio Olympic gold medallist and 2019 World Champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan at the Strandja Memorial tournament.

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