Ex-national weightlifter, Team Strong Silvers fitness advocate dies at 80

One of four core members of elderly fitness group Team Strong Silvers, former national weightlifter Ng Bee Kia, has died.

In an obituary posted on their Facebook page on July 4, the group announced that Ng died last Friday (July 3) at the age of 80.

Ng has been a mainstay of the group since its founding in 2013, impressing Singaporeans with their fitness and toned bodies despite being in their 60s then.

In an interview with The Asean, a bi-monthly magazine of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Ng, a former national weightlifter who represented Singapore in regional competitions in the 1960s and 1970s, said that exercise can help seniors become healthier, even through just basic movements.

He won three SEA Games medals in the 1970s.

"Maybe you can no longer be as strong as in your younger days. But you can become healthier than you are now," the magazine reported him as saying last July.

Ng, who had reportedly undergone a surgery recently and was in recovery said: "Like a car that is not used for a long time, the body will fall into disrepair. I want to remain a well-maintained and running vehicle."

He has been a familiar sight on the group's social media, frequently demonstrating simple exercise movements.

Along with the other core members, they also attend nationwide active ageing campaigns.

On Team Strong Silvers' Facebook post announcing Ng's passing, many users paid respects to Ng by quoting the group's tagline, "Never too OLD", while others thanked him for being an inspiration.

Ng will be cremated at Mandai North Crematorium at 4.45pm on Monday. 

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