Chee (centre) with fellow contenders for the Masters (45 and Above) title – (from left) Lai, Sivakumar, Fallahi and Teng.
Chee with his Nabba-WFF Singapore Grand Prix 2017 memento trophy.
KUCHING: Years of experience and exposure have served Nolan Chee Chean Syze well at the recent National Amateur Bodybuilders Association (Nabba)-World Fitness Federation (WFF) Singapore Grand Prix 2017.
The veteran bodybuilder bagged the bronze medal in the Masters (Age 45 and Above) category of the event held at Kallang Theatre Singapore late last month.
Chee placed behind gold medallist Fallahi Masoud of Iran and fellow Malaysian, Raymond Teng Beng Huat.
Another Malaysian, Sivakumar Prumal took fourth place, while Lai Laichee Fo from the hosting country finished fifth.
“I just feel blessed – for being able to still be active in this sport, and also for having strong support from my family and friends. I think age is just a number – I’m in great shape now and looking forward to the next Mr Olympia Asia, to be held in Hong Kong this October,” Kuching-born Chee told thesundaypost here a few days after his return from the republic.
For the Hong Kong outing, he would be preparing for the Classic Bodybuilding category.
Asked on his chances, Chee said there would always be ‘tough contenders’.
“Having been in bodybuilding for years, I have never underestimated any challenger.
“Every year, there’s a new crop of bodybuilders who are just as determined and dedicated as anyone could be.
“Take this Singapore championship, for example. There were many tough competitors from countries like China, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam. India, in particular, sent many good contestants.
“Overall, it was a world-standard event – one that displayed prestige as in any Nabba-WFF competition around the world,” he said.
Initially, Chee took up swimming during his secondary school days before going into bodybuilding in 1983 – since then, he never looked back.
His maiden win was the Novice title at Mr Kuching 1986 before proceeding to become back-to-back champion in the division-level competition from 1990 to 2008 — also the year when he clinched the overall Mr Sarawak championship crown.
He then took a four-year hiatus before returning to the Mr Sarawak stage in 2013 and won the Masters title.
At the time, he was already 46 years old.
This Oct 18, he will turn 50.
The Nabba-WFF Singapore Grand Prix 2017 received participation from over 50 countries from across Asia.