Background
Takács was born in Budapest and joined the Hungarian Army.
Takács was born in Budapest and joined the Hungarian Army.
He is the third known physically disabled athlete to have competed in the Olympic Games after George Eyser in 1904 and Olivér Halassy in 1928, followed by Liz Hartel in 1952 and Neroli Fairhall in 1984. By 1936, he was a world-class pistol shooter, but he was denied a place in the Hungarian shooting team for the 1936 Summer Olympics on the grounds that he was a sergeant, and only commissioned officers were allowed to compete. This prohibition was lifted in Hungary after the Berlin Games, and Takács had expectations of success at the 1940 Summer Olympics, scheduled to be held in Tokyo.
During army training in 1938, his right hand was badly injured when a faulty grenade exploded.
Takács was determined to continue his shooting career, and switched to shooting with his left hand. His story has given him a place among the "Olympic heroes" of the International Olympic Committee.
After his shooting career, Takács became a coach. He ended his army career as a lieutenant colonel.