Thread by @zhr_jafri

A professional pistol shooter gave his all to win the Olympic Gold but lost his shooting hand to a blast

What happened after that remains one of the most inspiring stories in the Olympic history

A thread on Karoly Takacs 🧵

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1938 - Karoly Takacs, a soldier in Hungarian Army was the top pistol shooter in the world

He was expected to win the gold medal in 1940 Olympics which were to happen in Tokyo

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Just a few months before Olympics, Takacs was training with his army squad when a hand grenade exploded in his right hand

Takacs lost his shooting hand and spent some time grieving about the loss. It was clearly the end of the road for his career.

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Most of the people would have quit at that time but Takacs didn't. He decided to pursue his dreams with what he was left with

He started practicing with his left hand. And spent months trying to reach his previous skill level

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1940 - Takacs showed up for the Hungarian National Pistol Shooting championship. The other competitors reached out to offer condolences to him for the unfortunate event

But he told them he had come to participate in the championship. And surprising everyone, he won

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1944 Olympics were cancelled because of World War 2. The wait for his dreams continued

Takacs qualified for the London Olympics to be held in 1948

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1948 - At the age of 38, Takacs won the gold medal and set a new world record in pistol shooting.

1952 - Takacs again won the Gold Medal again at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics

And became an inspirational sports legend

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