小伙大妈抢场地 双方大打出手

A basketball court in Luoyang, central China’s Henan Province turned into a "battlefield" after a fight broke out between a group of square dancing seniors and several young basketball players over who has the right to exercise first.

打篮球的年轻人和跳广场舞的大叔大妈因为场地问题发生矛盾，河南洛阳一篮球场沦为“战场”。

The brawl erupted on Wednesday when senior citizens broke into the court while the young men were holding a basketball match, and immediately got their groove on.

An amateur video capturing the two sides swinging fists and volleying insults went viral on Chinese social media platforms and triggered online backlash.

One of the players could be seen surrounded by angry square dancers, with one proceeding to slap him on the face before the young man strikes back as tension ratcheted up.

The two sides soon fell into a deadlock. The seniors refused to give the court back to the basketball players, claiming they have used the area for dancing purposes starting 7 p.m. every day for years. Meanwhile the young men insisted on holding ground, arguing they always were a good sport, making room for the seniors on time. They also expressed their wish to push back their training time so as to avoid the sweltering heat of the summer.

The case is now under further investigation and police said they would reach out to the authority in charge of the court and urge the seniors to find another platform to trip the light fantastic.

The verdict was out soon on China's Twitter-like Weibo, with netizens siding with the sports enthusiasts while blaming the elders for invading a space that is not reserved for their dancing activities and blasting them for their behavior.

“The court is a place to play basketball,” a user who goes by the name @beitianlang commented on China's Twitter-like Weibo, adding that “it is the dancing folks who should be blamed.”

“The senior people should not disregard social public order by taking advantage of their age,” another user @beilianggengbei said. He further noted that the seniors should only be respected for their deeds instead of their age.

It is not the first time that square dancers cause a ruckus on China’s social media and trigger huge online outcry.

Square dancing, also known as “Guangchangwu” in Chinese, is a very popular physical exercise among Chinese seniors, with many regarding the activity as not only a simple dancing routine but also an instance of socializing and communicating with neighborhoods.

Flocking to public areas -- including but not limited to plazas, wide sidewalks and parks -- to sway to blasting music has become a daily routine for thousands of "dancing aunties" and "uncles" in China.

However, the deafening levels at which radios blast and big turnouts have drawn frowns from residents and passersby.

“Dancing folks who always turn up music volumes in disregard of others' feelings never know how much we, young office workers, would like to sleep late on weekends,” @subukeaine commented under a Weibo post about the basketball court uproar.