IT WAS a really tight squeeze.

The Orchid Country Club's bowling alley was filled with officials, bowlers and screaming fans yesterday.

All 110 available tickets for the Asian Youth Games (AYG) boys' and girls' bowling singles events were snapped up.

The venue has a seating capacity of 200, the other 90 tickets were given out as complimentary tickets.

There was a good mix of players, coaches, fans and family members of the competing bowlers in the crowd.

Some fans even flew in to Singapore just to support their favourite team.

While squeezing in and out of seats may have been a challenge, one thing is for sure, Singapore's bowlers got all the support they needed and more.

In between games, the crowd would often be heard cheering: 'Go! Singapore go!'

Atmosphere

As the girls' singles competition progressed, the atmosphere grew tense as the crowd held its breath every time a bowler got ready to take a turn.

Whenever a strike was made, the crowd would go wild. With the cheering and clapping almost deafening at times.

Audience members were overheard speculating about the final outcome of the competition.

Mr Walter Tan a 62-year-old ball dealer was overheard saying that he didn't care who won as long as Singapore took home a gold.

And Singapore did.

Despite a slow start, New Hui Fen managed to mount an astounding comeback and clinched a gold medal in the girls' bowling singles.

It was the perfect reward for the spectators who braved the crowded conditions specially to support the home team.

Naveen Kanagalingam, newsroom intern

LESS THAN a quarter of the stadium was open to spectators.

But fill that section they did.

That was the scene at Anglican High School yesterday, where the Asian Youth Games (AYG) FIBA 33 Basketball Preliminaries were held.

The New Paper went to the venue at 2pm, a time when most people would be working or in school.

But the spectators' section had a respectable number of people of all ages, from the greying elderly to little kids.

At least 80 per cent of the seats were filled.

And while free seats were still available, they were sparse.

According to the venue manager, all 344 tickets on sale had been sold out.

Each ticket allowed access to the full day of fixtures, which started at 9am and ended just before 6pm.

What was impressive about the turnout was that the Singapore team weren't even playing at the time.

Sri Lanka's girls were playing against Uzbekistan's at 2.15pm, two teams with limited support here.

But the crowd still cheered their every move with passion.

They appeared to genuinely enjoy the sport of basketball, regardless of who was playing.

The match was a tight, tense affair, with every basket being greeted with cheers, and every miss met with groans.

Sri Lanka eventually triumphed 34-29.

Most of the seating in the stadium had been reserved for students, athletes, officials and VIPs.

But while limited in number, the spectators from the public made up for it with their voices.

Go to twitter.com/thenewpaper and tnppostman.com for TNP's AYG updates, pictures and videos.