David Jacobs

Dian David Mickael Jacobs (21 June 1977 – 28 April 2023) he decided to compete in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, winning a bronze medal.

Early life Jacobs was born in Ujung Pandang (now Makassar) on 21 June 1977. He was of Ambonese descent. He began playing table tennis at age ten, with the support of his parents Jan and Nell, as well as his brothers Rano, Piere, and Joe; his three brothers also play table tennis. In 1989 his parents registered him with the PTP Club in Semarang; in his two years with the club, he became a national champion at the elementary-school level.

When Jacobs was ready to begin his junior high school, the family moved to Jakarta. Jacobs was signed with UMS 80 Club. He continued to improve and joined the provincial team. In 1997 he was sent to Beijing to train at the Shi Cha Hai Sports School. By 2000 Jacobs was already being prepared to compete at the international level by the Indonesian Table Tennis Association. Jacobs was married to Jeanny Palar, with whom he has one child.

Table tennis career While earning a degree in management from the Perbanas School of Economics, Jacobs continued training. He participated in his first Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in 2001. Together with Yon Mardiono, in 2001 Jacobs won Indonesia's only gold medal at the SEATTA table tennis championship in Singapore. In the men's doubles competition, they defeated the Thai duo Phucong Sanguansin and Phakphoom Sanguansin in three matches, scoring 11–4, 11–4, and 11–6. Paired with Mardiono for the first time for this tournament, Jacobs told The Jakarta Post that they "were determined not to let ourselves be dominated".

Jacobs continued to play at the SEA Games, competing in Vietnam (2003), the Philippines (2005), and Thailand (2007). He won the 2004 Pekan Olahraga Nasional competition for table tennis, which led to him receiving an honorary position at the Department of Sport; he became a full-time employee there in 2008. In 2008, Jacobs served as a coach for the Indonesian men's table tennis team, and in 2009 he competed at the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.

Para table tennis career Jacobs began playing in para table tennis tournaments later that year, becoming a member of the National Paralympic Committee in 2010. He competed in Class 10, which is the highest level of functionality in the system. He usually trained with opponents who maintained full functionality. Jacobs himself had a problem with one of his hands.

At the 2010 Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China, Jacobs won a bronze medal. Before the competition, he had only a month to train. He competed in several international tournaments, winning a gold in Thailand, silver in Beijing, bronze in the Czech Republic, silver in the United Kingdom, and gold in Taiwan. At the 2011 ASEAN Para Games in Surakarta, Jacobs won seven gold medals: men's singles (open), men's doubles (open), mixed doubles (open), men's doubles, mixed doubles, team, and single. In January of the following year, Jacobs took on Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a three-game series. Although the president won one game with a score of 13–11, Jacobs took the series, winning two games with the scores of 11–7 and 11–9. After the competition, Yudhoyono gave a speech on the need to support Indonesia's disabled athletes.

In March 2012, Jacobs won two gold medals at the Protour Paratable Tennis Lignano Open in Italy. In the men's singles, he defeated Ivan Karabec of the Czech Republic with a score of 11–9, 11–7, and 11–8, while in the men's team play, he was paired with Komet Akbar and defeated teams from the Netherlands and Czech Republic. In June he won the Slovak Table Tennis Tournament, ranking him among the top three in the world.

Jacobs was one of several athletes who represented Indonesia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, with Ni Nengah Widiasih (powerlifting), the swimmer Agus Ngaimin, and an athletics competitor, Setyo Budi Hartanto. Jacobs won the bronze medal in the Table Tennis Men's Individual C10 classification. It was the nation's first Paralympic medal in over twenty years.

Death On the night of 27 April 2023, Jacobs was found unconscious near Juanda-Gambir railway in Gambir, Central Jakarta. He was rushed to Husada Hospital, and died there on 28 April 2023, at the age of 45.

Awards and nominations

Achievements

Paralympic Games

Men's singles

World Championships

Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref 2022 Palacio Municipal de Deportes, Granada, Spain Patryk Chojnowski 9–11, 9–11, 7–11 Silver Silver

Men's team Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2014 Beijing, China Komet Akbar Patryk Chojnowski Sebastian Powrozniak Igor Misztal 2–3 Bronze Bronze

Mixed doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2022 Palacio Municipal de Deportes, Granada, Spain Hana Resti Patryk Chojnowski Natalia Partyka 7–11, 12–10, 9–11, 7–11 Bronze Bronze 2014 Songdo Global University Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea Dinesh Deshappriya Pitiyage Don Silva 11–6, 11–5, 7–11, 11–9 Gold Gold 2018 Ecovention, Jakarta, Indonesia Lian Hao 11–4, 7–11, 11–6, 17–15 Gold Gold

Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2018 Ecovention, Jakarta, Indonesia Komet Akbar Shin Seung-weon Jung Suk-youn 11–5, 11–7 Gold Gold

Men's team Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2014 Songdo Global University Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea Komet Akbar Ge Yang Ma Lin Lian Hao Zhao Yi Qing 0–3 Silver Silver

Asian Championships

Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref2013 Beijing, China Ge Yang 8–11, 11–7, 8–11, 11–6, 5–11 Silver Silver 2015 Amman, Jordan Ge Yang 11–8, 4–11, 11–9, 13–11 Gold Gold 2019 John Paul II Stadium, Taichung, Taiwan Komet Akbar 4–11, 11–13, 11–4, 9–11 Silver Silver

Men's team Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref2013 Beijing, China Komet Akbar Ge Yang Kong Weijie 1–3 Silver Silver 2015 Amman, Jordan Komet Akbar Ge Yang Lian Hao 1–2 Silver Silver 2019 John Paul II Stadium, Taichung, Taiwan Komet Akbar Lian Hao Mao Shubo 2–1 Gold Gold

SEA Games

Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2005 Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Manila, Philippines Yon Mardiyono Cai Xiaoli Yang Zi Silver Silver 2007 Klang Plaza, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand Yon Mardiyono Gao Ning Yang Zi 10–12, 11–7, 7–11, 11–7, 10–12 Bronze Bronze

Men's team Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2009 Convention Hall, Laos National University, Vientiane, Laos Yon Mardiyono Muhammad Hussein Phuchong Sanguansin Phakphoom Sanguansin Chaisit Chaitat 1–3 Bronze Bronze

ASEAN Para Games

Men's singles Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref 2011 Diamond Convention Center, Surakarta, Indonesia Gold Gold 2015 OCBC Arena, Singapore Bui Quy Thu 11–7, 11–2, 11–2 Gold Gold 2017 Malaysian International Trade and Exhibition Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Komet Akbar Gold Gold 2022 Solo Techno Park, Surakarta, Indonesia Komet Akbar Gold Gold

Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2011 Diamond Convention Center, Surakarta, Indonesia Komet Akbar Wawan Widiyantoro Supriyatna Gumilang Gold Gold 2015 OCBC Arena, Singapore Komet Akbar Mohamad Azwar Bakar Chee Chaoming 11–5, 11–3, 11–3 Gold Gold

Men's team Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2015 OCBC Arena, Singapore Komet Akbar Bangun Sugito Suwarno Mohamad Azwar Bakar Chee Chaoming Ahmad Syahrir Bin Mohamad Kamal Saupi Gold Gold 2017 Malaysian International Trade and Exhibition Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Komet Akbar Bangun Sugito Suwarno Bunpot Sillapakong Sukij Samee Gold Gold

SEATTA Championships

Men's doubles Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2001 Singapore Yon Mardiyono Phuchong Sanguansin Phakphoom Sanguansin 11–4, 11–4, 11–6 Gold Gold

ITTF Para Table Tennis Tour Men's singles Year Tournament Opponent Score Result 2011 Thailand Open Jan Brinkmann 11–7, 11–1, 11–4 Gold 2011 China Open Ge Yang Silver 2011 Taichung TT Open Karim Boumedouha Gold 2012 Lignano Master Open Ivan Karabec 11–9, 11–7, 11–8 Gold 2012 Slovakia Open Lian Hao Gold 2013 Korea Open Ge Yang Gold 2014 Al Watani Championships Saber Balah Gold 2014 Romania Open Denislav Stefanov Kodjabashev Gold 2015 Slovenian Open Jose Manuel Ruiz Reyes Silver 2015 Thailand Open Ivan Karabec Gold 2016 Indonesia Open Mohamad Azwar Bakar 11–5, 11–9, 9–11, 11–7 Gold 2017 Open Ciutat del Prat Jorge Cardona Gold 2017 Spanish Open Igor Misztal Gold 2017 US Open Kim Daybell 11-9, 9–1, 14-12, 5-11, 14-12 Gold 2018 Indonesia Open Bunpot Sillapakong Gold 2018 Spanish Open Krisztian Gardos Gold 2018 Copa Tango XVI Carlos Alberto Carbinatti Junior 11–5, 11–8, 7–11, 11–2 Gold 2019 Egypt Open Komet Akbar Gold 2019 Czech Open Igor Misztal Gold 2019 Finland Open Filip Radovic Gold 2019 Dutch Open Patryk Chojnowski Silver 2022 Greek Open Komet Akbar Gold

Men's team Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result Ref 2011 Thailand Open Mohamad Azwar Bakar Ju Ren-der Lu Wei-chen 3–1 Gold 2011 China Open Mohamad Azwar Bakar Ge Yang Lian Hao 2–3 Silver 2011 Czech Open Ivan Karabec Iurii Nozdrunov Pavel Lukyanov 3–0 Gold 2011 British Open Iurii Nozdrunov José Manuel Ruiz Reyes Jorge Cardona Álvaro Valera 2–1 Gold 2011 Taichung TT Open Mohamad Azwar Bakar Ju Ren-der Hsu Chih-shan 3–0 Gold 2012 Lignano Master Open Komet Akbar Ivan Karabec Bas Hergelink 3–1 Gold 2013 Bayreuth Open Komet Akbar Matéo Bohéas Frederic Bellais 3–1 Gold 2013 Korea Open Naoya Nagashita Ge Yang Kong Weijie 1–3 Silver 2014 Al Watani Championships Ali Alsanea Vladislav Balobanov Ronald Vijverberg Andrianus Johannes Van Amerongen Silver 2014 Romania Open Komet Akbar Denislav Stefanov Kodjabashev Esa Miettinen 3–1 Gold 2015 Slovenian Open Komet Akbar José Manuel Ruiz Reyes Juan Bautista Perez Gonzalez 3–1 Gold 2015 Thailand Open Komet Akbar Mohamad Azwar Bakar Dinesh Deshappriya Pitiyage Don Silva Gold 2017 US Open Komet Akbar Kim Daybell Stacey Joshua 2–1 Gold 2018 Copa Tango XVI Komet Akbar Kusnanto Manuel Felipe Echaveguren Farias Alvaro Hernan Vega Gutierrez Gold 2019 Finland Open Komet Akbar Matéo Bohéas Gilles de la Bourdonnaye Gold 2019 Dutch Open Kusnanto Iurii Nozdrunov Pavel Lukyanov Gold