Ng, who turns 76 on Boxing Day, is believed to be the first Malaysian to have won a gold in the competition.
“This is the greatest achievement in my weightlifting career. When the Negara Ku was played, I just couldn't hold back my tears on the podium.
“Now I'll have to work even harder to defend my title at the championships in Ukraine next year,” he said yesterday.
Strong senior: Ng showing the gold medal he won in Cyprus recently. The victory was his first at an international weightlifting championship.
Masters weightlifting, which comprises two events snatch and clean-and-jerk is an Olympic sport for those aged 35 and above.
Ng, a former national weightlifting coach, lifted a total of 124kg to emerge champion in the 75-79 age group category.
The competition was held from Oct 29 to Nov 5.
The grandfather of six, who had gone through a heart bypass, triumphed over record holder Belarus' Eduard Zhyhalka, who took the silver medal. The bronze went to Abram Kilimik of Germany.
Ng, who returned home on Sunday, had been training since early this year to smash Zhyhalka's 60kg record in the snatch event but decided to “just focus on winning” in the end.
Ng, who held the national featherweight (60kg) record from 1963 to 1973, is up by 5.30am and in bed by 9.30pm daily.
He does not adhere to a particular diet but spends RM1,000 monthly on supplements.
The father of four started weightlifting when he was a skinny 14-year-old, training under former national weightlifting champion, the late Saw Chee Seng.
Ng, an ex-army officer who once served in Congo, Africa, under the United Nations, credits weightlifting for “keeping me out of trouble
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