Former police officer and judoka David Antoine passes away |01 September 2023

David Antoine (Photo: Contributed)

Former police officer and judoka David Antoine is no longer with us.

Born on July 6, 1958, he passed away early yesterday morning (August 31, 2023) at the Seychelles Hospital following a short illness.

A respectable police officer since joining the force in 1974, Antoine was everything one wanted in an officer as he was known for his dedicated and loyal service. He started as an officer with the then Police Mobile Unit (PMU) before being transferred to the Seychelles Fire Services. He was again transferred to the normal police force.

After a distinguished career in the police force, Mr Antoine was among a group of long-serving officers who were rewarded in 2018 for having served the police for more than forty years. He had clocked exactly 40 years in the force when he was rewarded and he retired as a sub-inspector in 2021.

Affectionately known as Bo, Antoine also loved doing sports. He was also a well-known judoka and won Seychelles its first judo medal – a bronze – in the +95kg division at the third Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) in Madagascar in 1990.

Those were the days when judokas like Bernard Marcel, Allen de Létourdie and Jean Claude Adrienne ruled the tatami.

Unfortunately, he was unable to see the younger generation of judokas in action in Madagascar 33 years later during the ongoing 11th IOIG. This is because he was hospitalised, but the third dan black belt holder kept asking about their performances.

Since he also did weightlifting, he queried about the results of local lifters.

At some point, Antoine was also involved with Ju-jitsu.

He leaves behind his wife Sylvanne, son Daniel, daughter Merna and six grandchildren whom he spoilt a lot since he went into retirement.

Gerard Govinden