Racket Boys 라켓소년단 [2021]

[left_phalange]

Hi all! And thanks to @mademoiselle for making this thread.

 

I’m really hooked on this drama. The kids and their family are so lovable. In the world of kdrama full of teenagers bullying and not proper romance stories, Racket Boys is like a breath of fresh air to me, their interaction is just like normal middle schoolers would be. Also, I love that they insert the details about badminton and its athlete’s life in their conversation, some of them would be like normal conversation but for badminton fans you must notice it right away. With all the heart-warming stories, how they wrap up/resolve the issue, some twist here and there, I guess the writing style is a little bit influenced by Lee Woo Jung since the writer is her hoobae.

 

However, I can’t help but to feel bothered with some inaccuracies

Spoiler

- When Haekang needed 10 minutes to score 1 point. That’s most likely not to happen. Well, it can but they might faint after that lol. The record for longest badminton rally is just about 4 minutes and it’s by double players.
-  Certainly, the match of Seyoon in NZ isn’t a junior tournament set-up. It's too glorious. They imitate the NZ Open, a regular tournament for world ranked players.
- Korean player has kryptonite over a NZ player. I hope they use a real competition scheme.

So far, it’s still tolerable, but I hope it’s not getting more annoying later since they say they want to make it as real as possible.

[bluepebbles]

 

[SnowBlob]

@mademoiselle @LaLa Even BWF = Badminton World Federation posted this drama in its official instagram  and on the last slide (which I'm not posting here) shows BWF pin on the drama hahahahahah

 

Anyway I still haven't watched (or don't know whether I will ever do) .. but just posting this as an 'encouragement' FIGHTIN'!

[mademoiselle]

 

 

 

[mademoiselle]

Hae Kang continues to amuse me. I lol so much when he was all full of himself with the kids showering him with admiration while the others wanted to puke . The little history that Hae Kang and Se Yoon shared were so adorably cute. These two are definitely going to have a loveline. Hehehe. Love what Hae Kang said to Se Yoon, and helped her let loose.

source

 

It was also cute that both talk about how to make up with their mothers. It's relatable I must say and easily said than done to advise others what to do and when it comes to ourselves it becomes difficult.

 

I'm surprised No.1 in class is already hanging out with Hae Kang group and seems like he'll be a permanent part of the group soon.

 

@left_phalange hello, welcome. I'm enjoying the drama too and indeed it is a breath of fresh air from all other types of kdramas.

 

Hahaha @SnowBlob I think they are just thrilled that there's a drama that is focusing on badminton. It's really rare. I remember LangLang gave praise to Do You Like Brahms? as well when that was airing coz another topic rarely featured in drama. You really know your badminton stuff, ahahaha! 

Edited June 8, 2021 by mademoiselle

[SnowBlob]

53 minutes ago, mademoiselle said:

 

Hahaha @SnowBlob I think they are just thrilled that there's a drama that is focusing on badminton. It's really rare. I remember LangLang gave praise to Do You Like Brahms? as well when that was airing coz another topic rarely featured in drama. You really know your badminton stuff, ahahaha! 

I think they're definitely ecstatic about badminton being made into a drama! And it also features things in real life (such as BWF, the Minions Poster hahahahaha). And no I actually don't know much about badminton except how many sets per game and how the scoring works. If you ask me about techniques, skills..strategies...even the lines on the court...I have NO IDEA 

[mademoiselle]

49 minutes ago, SnowBlob said:

I think they're definitely ecstatic about badminton being made into a drama! And it also features things in real life (such as BWF, the Minions Poster hahahahaha). And no I actually don't know much about badminton except how many sets per game and how the scoring works. If you ask me about techniques, skills..strategies...even the lines on the court...I have NO IDEA.

?! What is Minions Poster (the actual Minion? But why?). At least you know all this BWF thingie. I used to play but don't love it enough to follow any matches (not like it is easy to find live streaming for badminton unless you have cable TV or satellite TV since badminton was never the IN thing) or you pirate (I think...?). I'm sure with your many years of following you can at least tell how well/bad these actors portray playing, lol.

 

Strategies? In singles all I know is "make them run". Aim for corners. Hit upwards as high as possible (clear) to the near end of the line and also attack their back hand. SCORE! Hahahahaha! That's how I lose and how I once won a game. The funny thing was the opponent was lefty so a few times I hit to the wrong hand.

[LaLa]

4 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

What is Minions Poster (the actual Minion? But why?)

 

Let me help @SnowBlobanswering this one. There is men's double pair from Indonesia that currently number 1 in bwf list. Their nickname from the fans is minions because they use yellow uniform for the match. If you compare their heights he hwith other players (especially from the European and the Chinese men double pair, that was dubbed as their enemies because they keep meeting each other in final ) they are smaller in comparison. And they also like a fast paced game and moves everywhere in the court, that's why one of the fans said they look like minions. And that nickname started to grow among fans and even international fans of bwf commentators also called them by that nickname. 

 

For the said poster, it's just a background property and you might have missed it if you don't recognize it. It will be shown in ep 4, at the coach or badminton club room at the school ;)

 

I don't play badminton myself (I did play just once or twice in the past just for fun with classmates, which I mostly miss to hit the shuttlecock ) but I do watch the games. I don't really mind about the pose and the technical because I just watched to enjoy the match. @SnowBlobhas described it best

5 hours ago, SnowBlob said:

And no I actually don't know much about badminton except how many sets per game and how the scoring works.

 

But you do know about the lines about in and out and the difference for single and double playeers, don't you snow? Hahahaha

 

I watched raw for both ep 3 and 4 a d I really enjoyed the light stories. Like in prison playbook style, they mixed the seriousness and laugh and add some touching scenes in one hour. Ep 4 will be last about 75 to 80 mins. In ep 4 we'll know one of the reason Hae Kang choose to quit badminton and move to baseball. 

 

And yes @mademoisellewe'll see more of the class president! He'll join racket boys!

 

 

[stroppyse]

Finally getting around to watching ep 4, and I'm so angry at Coach Yoon. Regardless of how nice a guy he may be, he's a terrible coach. And, he should feel much worse and like a total failure as a coach for causing his team's disqualification without even getting a chance to play because he was too hung over. Talk about very poor judgment. Yes, he admitted his mistake, but I hated how he tried to gloss it over as if the boys don't care and probably wouldn't have won anyway. I'm actually getting pretty tired of his attitudes towards his athletes. He's accepted being a loser and it's clear that he thinks of his team as losers. The team, actually any team, deserves better than that.

[SnowBlob]

18 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

 I'm sure with your many years of following you can at least tell how well/bad these actors portray playing, lol.

 

This needs correction.. I actually only have started following badminton like a little before this covid19 pandemic started.. so it hasn't been long  And nooo...not pirated channel..BWF has its official YouTube channel and it often shows the 'big' tournaments (and I think some small ones too). Otherwise, smaller tournaments can also be watched through its official YouTube site or something. So I hardly need to watch it anywhere else 

Who knows by the end of this drama, Madem you'll be much more knowledgeable about badminton than me!!! 

(oh I don't play badminton ... only watch it. so we're opposite!) 

 

Thank you @LaLa for the Minions explanation. I simply thought it was only because their 'short' statures. I did see their yellow jersey..but didn't connect it with their nicknames  LOL... I think for double... outside the outside lines are out. Easy. Single... errrr...  

[stroppyse]

Okay, thank goodness for Coach Bae! At least he really cares about the boys. And the village people!

 

I was getting a bit tired of HK's don't care attitude and bravado, but the payoff at the end of the episode was really nice. And, even Coach Yoon finally seems to understand that the team really wants to do well, so hopefully, he won't be so careless again. He needs to really mature, despite all the mishaps that he's already had, both shown in the drama and alluded to in expositions.

 

In Sol was a bit of a surprise. I guess he really wants to be one of the guys? But still not sure why he seems to so desperately want to be one of the Racket Guys, but hopefully we'll find out.

 

Btw, the reveal in ep 3 that HK and SY had known each other back in elementary school when HK was the child badminton prodigy while SY was struggling to find her game was very cute. I keep wondering if SY had developed a crush on him when they were younger, but couldn't tell him. Anyway, SY does seem to like HK now, and HK also seems to notice SY, especially after realizing that she was his childhood friend. I'm looking forward to their sweet, awkward interactions, if they do end up liking each other. Not to mention, it'll be a bit of a repeat of HK's parents' relationship maybe where SY is ranked in the world while HK is just a very good player. HK used to be a prodigy, but he's having some trouble finding his form now and so may not climb in the rankings.

 

[abs-oluteM]

PP reunion!

Will start this soon now that Youth of May is done 

 

[bluepebbles]

Can Kyungho join the cameo train.. but not this kind of cameo please

 

[mademoiselle]

2 hours ago, SnowBlob said:

This needs correction.. I actually only have started following badminton like a little before this covid19 pandemic started.. so it hasn't been long. And nooo...not pirated channel..BWF has its official YouTube channel and it often shows the 'big' tournaments (and I think some small ones too). Otherwise, smaller tournaments can also be watched through its official YouTube site or something. So I hardly need to watch it anywhere else

Who knows by the end of this drama, Madem you'll be much more knowledgeable about badminton than me!!! 

(oh I don't play badminton ... only watch it. so we're opposite!) 

 

LOL... I think for double... outside the outside lines are out. Easy. Single... errrr... 

Hahahahaha I see I see. I searched badminton match between Korea vs New Zealand last night coz I was curious and found BWF's YouTube channel xP. I watched a few minutes of Lee Dan vs a Kwang Hee Heo (couldn't find Korea vs NZ). Point is I know now you can watch the match via BWF, hahaha. I don't know any tournament names though. My sport watching experience is minimal and only had watched tennis and basketball. I no longer watch any ever since I am addicted to kdramas.

 

I'm not really sure I'm learning anything about badminton from Racket Boys (yet). LOLLLL. The drama shows the kids compete but the show doesn't dwell into the details of technique or introduce BWF of the sort. I think I learnt more about it from this thread than the drama (at the moment).

2 hours ago, SnowBlob said:

LOL... I think for double... outside the outside lines are out. Easy. Single... errrr...

Would this help? Hahaha. Singles is the inner lines (for the sides/width) and the longest line (for the length).

 

 

@abs-oluteM Awwww... I love seeing the PP casts making a cameo! We already have Go Baksa and Kaist! Looking forward to Janbaljang (Winner), Kim Je Hyuk (Park Hae Soo) and Beobja (Kim Sung Cheol) who are reported to cameo. Will Jung Hae In, Lee Kyu Hyung, Kim Kyung Nam and Jung Kyung Ho come too?! Haerongie making a re-appearance would be awesome.

 

[SnowBlob]

 @mademoiselle those pics definitely help!!! Now I know (sheepish). See..you knew more than me because you started searching things about badminton (and this drama contributed to that). There's this men's double pair whom I like very much. Their nickname is The Daddies. They're world no 2 in men's double. They're on the older side but goodness me...there were a few matches when one of them had injury during the game... and they still WON the game! There're also instances when they're very very much behind and still made an awesome come back and won the said games! Truly admirable. Their attitude on and off the court...and their resilience. (and plus they're older...and you know me..I like ahjussi haahhahahahaha - but no..in saying that they're not ahjussi)

 

Ahh..now I'm hijacking your thread with badminton stuff 

[mademoiselle]

Hmm, I think this drama is a bit like PP in the sense that it takes a few episodes to get a bit more serious (although still with humour). Like how finally at the end we learnt more about Hae Kang and him beginning to take everything more seriously. It is also nice that he's starting to accept the boys and calls them friends. Ahhh I do love it when friendships grow.

 

Next episode seems to be growing the lovelines. Haha, cute.

 

I have always wondered though. The school already has Coach Bae, why did the school hire another coach i.e. Coach Yoon? Or Coach Bae is the PE teacher whereas Coach Yoon is specially dedicated to just train the kids in badminton?

 

Hae Kang's mum as a coach and Hae Kang's dad as a coach is such a huge difference. Hopefully from now on, Coach Yoon will become a more responsible coach and start to take care of these boys professionally like his wife. I was a little disappointed in him in this episode.

 

1 hour ago, SnowBlob said:

Ahh..now I'm hijacking your thread with badminton stuff

This show is about badminton, so I guess you're not off-topic?! LOLLLLL.

2 hours ago, SnowBlob said:

Now I know (sheepish). See..you knew more than me

Hahaha. I know the basics. I just retired to become a kdrama couch potato these days. xD xPP

2 hours ago, SnowBlob said:

there were a few matches when one of them had injury during the game... and they still WON the game! There're also instances when they're very very much behind and still made an awesome come back and won the said games!

That would actually be quite exciting. I used to watch Federer for tennis and there is a thrill when you watch them have a good match. Even with short few mins of Lin Dan vs Kwang Hee Heo there was already a few shots I was like, "Good shot!!" I just don't have the patience to watch 1 hour+ of badminton hahahaha (no time, need to catch up on kdramas).

[SnowBlob]

I had to backread @mademoiselle comments again due to this 

1 hour ago, mademoiselle said:

 

Hahaha. I know the basics. I just retired to become a kdrama couch potato these days. xD xPP

Whaatttt....you JUST retired..meaning you played badminton like...for real? I mean you did say you played..but i thought it was just like for fun..

 And not like this...

On 6/8/2021 at 8:43 PM, mademoiselle said:

 

Strategies? In singles all I know is "make them run". Aim for corners. Hit upwards as high as possible (clear) to the near end of the line and also attack their back hand. SCORE!

You sound like a pro  (yup i confessed that i only read the part where you said 'in singles all i know is make them run'. And i stopped there thinking...you're the same like me...since all i focused when i played badminton was...to HIT the shuttlecock and got it across the net and inside the opponent's court...). 

 

A few weeks ago...a single woman player from Indonesia...which pretty much was unknown to the world prior to that tournament...won the tournament. Anyhow..not the point...but i notice that her serve style is to hit the shuttlecock high alll the way to the back. I find it interesting because i never see that type of serve in any doubles?? (And yes i hardly watch single games and women double) ahahhaahah

[mademoiselle]

1 hour ago, SnowBlob said:

A few weeks ago...a single woman player from Indonesia...which pretty much was unknown to the world prior to that tournament...won the tournament. Anyhow..not the point...but i notice that her serve style is to hit the shuttlecock high alll the way to the back. I find it interesting because i never see that type of serve in any doubles??

Does she always serve high or she alternates? Serving high gives us more time to prepare for the next shot. You also push your opponent to the back and they might not return a good quality shuttlecock (if not pro) and depends on which angle she serves high as well because she might be aiming at the angle where the opponent has to do an overhead return.

 

This reminds me of the boys always love to bully us girls by serving us not only high serve but "quick" or at an angle where we have to do an overhead return. These are the not-so-good-at-playing girls' weaknesses. We're weak with the footwork too. Obviously the stronger girls the boys wouldn't dare to feed them serves like this because they would get smashed.

 

I serve high and hit high for singles (because I am not pro enough to react quick). But for doubles, serving high is likely setting up for the opponent to smash at you or your weaker partner so I'm told not a good idea and always serve low.

1 hour ago, SnowBlob said:

I had to backread @mademoiselle comments again due to this 

Whaatttt....you JUST retired..meaning you played badminton like...for real? I mean you did say you played..but i thought it was just like for fun..

 And not like this...

You sound like a pro  (yup i confessed that i only read the part where you said 'in singles all i know is make them run'. And i stopped there thinking...you're the same like me

 

Not pro. I wish. Used to play in a club & spent a few years listening to these people talk nothing about badminton at the lunch/dinner table after playing. I also watched a few local competitions and supported those friends but eventually I stop going because all these comps always happen in winter. It's freezing just sitting at the court.

 

Edited June 9, 2021 by mademoiselle

[left_phalange]

Coach Yoon is so frustrating, he doesn't seem to have any contribution to the team so far. But with the writer record, I'll still believe there's something more for him.

 

8 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

I searched badminton match between Korea vs New Zealand last night coz I was curious and found BWF's YouTube channel xP. I watched a few minutes of Lee Dan vs a Kwang Hee Heo (couldn't find Korea vs NZ).

It's very rare to see NZ in big tournament, they don't have top players. That's why it's odd to make Seyoon never wins against a NZ player. A quite well known from oceania country is women's double pair from Australia, if you're still interested you can search for it.

 

@SnowBlob on next episode Seyoon's competition will be at Istora, too bad the focus is on women's single only, if they do men's double maybe they'll recreate the daddies or minions  

[SnowBlob]

@mademoiselle WHO ARE YOU?????  It's like I found a new Madem I never knew before. Didn't picture you to be a badminton player of some sort (well you're still a player because you played in a club). And because I thought badminton is really an unpopular sport here (and the fact remains we don't have anyone from this land of OZ in the top 10 in any of the groupings). 

11 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

Does she always serve high or she alternates? Serving high gives us more time to prepare for the next shot. You also push your opponent to the back and they might not return a good quality shuttlecock (if not pro) and depends on which angle she serves high as well because she might be aiming at the angle where the opponent has to do an overhead return.

 

From what I saw..she ALWAYS served high during that game...and her opponent didn't...the opponent just did the low serve thing. Reading your comment made me learn a few new things... seriously...it's like... who are you?!?!?!

 

@left_phalangewas that really filmed in Istora though???? I was talking to @LaLa the other day..and I was like...they're pretty daring if they truly filmed there as Indonesia's covid cases are like... a lottttttt  Eh... seems you're another avid badminton player since you know Minions and Daddies.... (and NO..I'm not a badminton player myself.. I just watch ... )

[left_phalange]

@SnowBlob I guess not, they just filmed it in studio. From the preview the boys said how intimidating the place for foreign players, I hope they can recreate the vibe and the noise of Istora.

No, I'm not a player just a fan 

[mademoiselle]

7 hours ago, SnowBlob said:

I thought badminton is really an unpopular sport here (and the fact remains we don't have anyone from this land of OZ in the top 10 in any of the groupings). 

Hahahahaha, maybe if you search outside of top 10 there will be one? I'm pretty sure we have a national team. It's like Michelin star too, no one comes here to give up Michelin stars for the restaurants. It's a place forgotten, I reckon

7 hours ago, SnowBlob said:

From what I saw..she ALWAYS served high during that game...and her opponent didn't...the opponent just did the low serve thing. Reading your comment made me learn a few new things... seriously...it's like... who are you?!?!?!

Who am I?

Spoiler

I am this lady you mention.

Spoiler

No I'm just pulling your leg

My true identity is Couch Potato Kdrama Addict. Hmm, maybe Couch Potato Kdrama Critic sounds better. And also Oppa Specialist like Tea.

 

It's probably just her serving style then, and she's more comfortable with this.

 

[SnowBlob]

@left_phalange surely they wouldn't dare going to Istora just for filming  and since most of the badminton court looks alike..so it wont matter where they shoot it..hahaha

@mademoiselle we got badminton national team here?!?!?! ..... Errrr.... 

After starting watching badminton..once i was like..i wanna start playing for fun... But held off for so long and thennnn my friend injured herself badly when she played badminton (she had cast on..wheel chair..and then crutches...all those..)..and i was like....nopeee...dont wanna play anymore.  but who knows..one day i may.. And then i should start with how to handle the racket properly...

[bluepebbles]

 

 

 

[mademoiselle]

8 hours ago, SnowBlob said:

 

@mademoiselle we got badminton national team here?!?!?! ..... Errrr.... 

After starting watching badminton..once i was like..i wanna start playing for fun... But held off for so long and thennnn my friend injured herself badly when she played badminton (she had cast on..wheel chair..and then crutches...all those..)..and i was like....nopeee...dont wanna play anymore. But who knows..one day i may.. And then i should start with how to handle the racket properly...

HAHAHAHA, try Google and you'll see the official site for it.

 

What did your friend do to be on a wheel chair from badminton?! I've never run after the shuttle until I fall on the ground. We girls just either get hit from behind by the boys (who at the time cannot control their shots yet) or hit from the front from our opponent because we stand in front of the net when we play mixed doubles (not strong enough to handle the back for us girls).

 

The most I get is pulled my muscle a bit because I was trying to cover for a girl who stands still and don't run to receive the shuttle that is hit towards her side of the court, so I ran after it and strained myself. But never to the point of severe injury. There are some people that pulled the ligaments but those are more serious players, not play-fun type.

 

You can ask for training. I do like drills. Like this one is fun.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7u_yByjHcQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

BTS

 

Edited June 11, 2021 by mademoiselle