Lifting Subgroups of Symplectic Groups over $mathbb{Z} / ell mathbb{Z}$

For a positive integer $g$, let $mathrm{Sp}_{2g}(R)$ denote the group of $2g times 2g$ symplectic matrices over a ring $R$. Assume $g ge 2$. For a prime number $ell$, we give a self-contained proof that any closed subgroup of $mathrm{Sp}_{2g}(mathbb{Z}_ell)$ which surjects onto $mathrm{Sp}_{2g}(mathbb{Z}/ellmathbb{Z})$ must in fact equal all of $mathrm{Sp}_{2g}(mathbb{Z}_ell)$. The result and the method of proof are both motivated by group-theoretic considerations that arise in the study of Galois representations associated to abelian varieties.