The Binghamton University student from Brooklyn whose beating led to an international manhunt spoke out for the first time Wednesday about the incident, saying while he is still recovering, he is hoping for the best.

Bryan Steinhauer, 22, says he does not remember the May 2008 attack at a bar near Binghamton University which left him in a coma for about two months.

The Brooklyn native addressed the media from Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan where he goes for outpatient therapy four times a week, as well undergoing as physical, occupational and speech therapy.

He says the best revenge would be for him to get back to where he was before the attack, and he's going to keep working, and hoping for the best.

"As far as my speech, it's around the same point, because it's all nerves in the brain, and it's very tough to know the final results," he said. "So you have to just wait and hope for the best and keep working your hardest."

Miladin Kovacevic, a former member of the university basketball team, was arrested on assault charges, but skipped bail and fled to Serbia after a diplomat at the Serbian consulate posted his bail.

The incident strained relations between Serbia and the United States, which wanted the suspect to be extradited to face trial in America.

The Serbian government has paid Steinhauer's family $900,000 as part of a deal to prosecute him overseas.