David Jacobs Unstoppable in Table Tennis

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Table tennis athlete of the Indonesian Paralympic Games, David Jacobs, was greeted by coach Bayu Widhie Hapsara after completing the 2018 Asian Para Games final table tennis match, which took place at Ecovention Ancol, Jakarta, Tuesday (09/10/2018). David won a gold medal in the TT10 classification after defeating Chinese athlete Lian Hao with a score of 3-1 (11-4, 7-11, 11-6 and 17-15).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Dian David Michael Jacobs, or David Jacobs, 41, was unstoppable on his hunt for gold in the Class-10 men’s singles table tennis event at the 2018 Asian Para Games. David dedicated the medal to his father, who died while David was at the national training camp (Pelatnas) to prepare for the Games.

“This is my first international championship without my father. He died on March 5 this year, while I was at the Pelatnas,” David said after the finals at the Ecoventiol Ancol venue in North Jakarta.

According to David, his father’s last wish was for him to always strive for the best in life. This had boosted his fighting spirit throughout the Games. David, who won bronze at the 2012 London Paralympics, has now set sights on gold at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

From the start of the group phase on Sunday (7/10) up to the semifinals on Tuesday, David gained one decisive victory after another against top athletes from South Korea and Japan. In the final, he prevailed over China’s Lian Hao with an aggregate score of 3-1 (11-4, 7-11, 11-6, 17-15).

After winning the game, David lay down on the court in joyful relief. Moments later, Indonesian para-table tennis coach Bayu Widhie Hapsara rushed in and hugged him. International photojournalists captured the poignant moment.

David then ran to the gallery and hugged his mother Neelce Jacobs, 81, and wife Jeanny Ingrid Palar, 28. He said the victory tore down his self-doubt, as he had not aimed to win gold in the men’s singles. The national para-table tennis team had aimed to win golds in Class-TT10 (standing) men’s doubles, with David and Komet Akbar, and in Class-5 (wheelchair) men’s doubles, with Agus Sutanto and Tato Hardiyanto.

This Wednesday (10/10), David and Akbar will participate in the men’s doubles event in the hope of winning gold. David said he hoped his win in the men’s singles would boost his and Akbar’s spirit to clinch gold in men’s doubles and qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

“Seeing David win, I am getting increasingly impatient for our fight [on Wednesday]. We will be more solid and try to win Indonesia’s second gold in table tennis,” Akbar said.

Coach Bayu said David’s victory meant very much in motivating other athletes.

Outside of table tennis, Indonesia won two more golds on Tuesday, namely by Elsa Maris, 32, in Class-TPB4 (intellectual impairment) women’s singles tenpin bowling and by Sapto Yogo Purnomo in Class-T37 (limited movement coordination) men’s 100-meter sprint. The host country also won five silvers and seven bronzes. As of Tuesday night, Indonesia ranked sixth in the medal standings with eight golds, 13 silvers and 18 bronzes.

Positive trend in swimming

From the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Aquatics Center, it was reported that swimmers Guntur and Zaki Zulkarnain were able to maintain Indonesia’s positive trend of winning medals every day in the Games’ swimming events. On Tuesday, Guntur won silver and Zaki bronze in Class-SB8 (lower body impairment) men’s 100m breaststroke. As of Tuesday evening, Indonesia’s para-swimming team has won one gold, two silvers and three bronzes.

Despite only winning bronze, Zaki was crying in joy when he hugged his coach. He won the medal after China’s Yan Guanglong was disqualified. Guanglong, a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, had finished first in the finals.

“I cannot believe that I won [bronze] despite finishing fourth. There was no target for me to win any medal, and I was nervous when I saw my opponents’ time. This [medal] has surely boosted my spirit,” said Zaki. This was his first participation at the Asian Para Games.

Indonesian para-swimming coach Bhima Kautsar said this year’s Games could serve as athletes’ stepping stone towards the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where Indonesia stood a very good chance of winning bronze, including from Jendi Pangabean in Class-S9 men’s 100m freestyle and Syuci Indriani in Class-S14 women’s 100m breaststroke and 200m medley).

Syuci said winning a medal in Tokyo would fulfill her lifelong dream. “I want to train harder, and it will not be easy,” he said. (DVD/JON)