Born in Ujung Pandang, he took up table tennis at the age of ten and rose quickly through national tournaments.

Having lost control in his right hand,[2] he decided to compete in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, winning a bronze medal.

[3] Together with Yon Mardiono, in 2001 Jacobs won Indonesia's only gold medal at the SEATTA table tennis championship in Singapore.

[3] 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.

[3] In 2008, Jacobs served as a coach for the Indonesian men's table tennis team,[6] and in 2009 he competed at the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.

[3] Jacobs began playing in para table tennis tournaments later that year, becoming a member of the National Paralympic Committee in 2010.

[7][9] In January of the following year, Jacobs took on Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a three-game series.

[10] In March 2012, Jacobs won two gold medals at the Protour Paratable Tennis Lignano Open in Italy.