Popularly nicknamed Jahân Pahlevân because of his chivalrous behavior and sportsmanship (Javanmardi in Iranian culture), he was the most popular athlete of Iran in the 20th century, although dozens of Iranian athletes have won more international medals than he did. Takhti is still considered a hero to many Persians. He is listed in the UWW Hall of Fame.
On 27 August 1930, Takhti, the youngest child of a poor family, was born in the Khaniabad neighbourhood of south capital At the age of 15, he entered Poulad Club in southern Tehran and began training in wrestling. He soon left Tehran to become a manual laborer in Masjed Soleyman. When he was called up for military service, his potential in wrestling was discovered, and he began to train seriously after he was recruited as an homeland railways employee in 1948. Takhti won his first Iranian championship in 1950. The following year on his first trip abroad, he won a silver medal at the world freestyle championships in Helsinki—the first international medal ever gained by an Iranian wrestler. One year later, he won another silver medal, again in Helsinki, this time in the 1952 Summer Olympic Games.
