Karoly Takacs : Beating Misfortune with a Single Hand.







   Karoly Takacs is the man who dominated his misfortune with a single hand. He is the one and only shooter to win gold medal in Olympics back to back twice after loosing his dominant hand . He did it at the age of 38 and 42 , generally at this age normal people plan to retire from sports. His strong will power, determination and fighting spirit helped him turning the word impossible to I-am-possible. His story is a testament to the power of the human spirit and the ability to overcome adversity. 



Early Life and Rising of Shooting Career

He was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1910. Takacs developed hid passion towards shooting at his early age. He started to climb the lader of success in shooting very quickly.  At the age of 26 in 1936, he won almost every national competition of 25 miters pistol shooting in Hungary. He was well prepared for the 1936 summer Olympics. But he could not attend the event because he was a sergeant at that time and only commissioned officers were allowed to take part in Olympics from Hungary. But after the Berlin games the prohibition was lifted. So he was preparing for the Tokyo Summer Olympics of 1940.



The Catastrophic Accident and the Road to Recovery


In 1938 Takacs's right hand was heavily injured because of a faulty grenade explosion. Right hand was his dominant hand and the doctor told him that he would never be able to shoot with his right hand. Everyone thought this is the end of Takacs's shooting career.      

Devastated but not defeated, Takacs refused to give up on his dream. He began to practice shooting with his left hand, a difficult task that required immense determination and perseverance.  He spent countless hours practicing , adapting his grip and technique to compensate for his disability. After a year of practicing he then joined the Hungarian national shooting championship in the spring of 1939. No one ever thought of Takacs competing again in shooting. He surprised everyone by winning the competition. 







The Story of  Winning Olympics

After a successful national championship Takacs was ready for 1940 Olympics , but it was cancelled because of the 2nd World War . The world was also costed him the 1944 Olympics as it was also cancelled for the war. In the London Olympics of 1948, Takacs finally got a chance to compete but he was in the fan favourite list as he was getting old . Again, he shocked the world not only by beating the fan favourite young Argentine blood Carlos Enrique Diaz Saenz but also winning the gold medal. Afterwards, he also won a gold medal in 1952 Olympics at the age of 42 and became the first shooter to win two Olympic gold medals in 25 metre rapid fire pistol event . 


The Legacy of Inspiration

Takacs died in 1976 after gifting a tremendous legacy of 35 national championship trophies, 2 Olympic golds and many more. He remains as an icon in Hungarian sports history and a source of inspiration for the athletes and individuals facing their own challenges. His story is a great reminder that with hunger, determination, perseverance and the never give up attitude anything in this world is possible.













RESOURCE: WIKIPEDIA

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