(Zach): Get some dogs on the grill.
- Pretty cool that they let us barbecue inside.
- I know! We're relaxin', we got the dogs sizzlin'.
I played this in high school.
Kind of like a really chill tennis.
(Ned): Whoa!
Whoa, whoa!
Pretty sure it's more intense
than at the back-yard barbecue.
- It's leisurely.
- Oh! - Oh no!
- Oh, it's raining shuttlecocks down on me!
No! - Yeah. Hey!
Hey, hey, hey!
(both): Not in the face!
This is the moneymaker.
- Badminton, stop! (both): Hey!
(Zach): We're the Try Guys, and we absolutely
love the Olympics.
(Ned):
We can't get enough of it!
(Eugene): But to be honest,
there's a lot we don't know.
(Ned): So we want to become the ultimate Olympic experts
the best way we know how...
by trying!
(Keith):
(Eugene):
- Badminton.
Not your back-yard barbecue sport,
but Olympic-level competition.
- Yeah. This is not a casual sport.
(shuttlecock ticking rapidly)
This is the fastest racket sport in the world.
(competitor screaming)
We're here today to learn
everything there is to know
about this sport.
- And fortunately for us,
teaching us today is Rena Wang,
Olympic athlete.
(dramatic music)
(soft yell)
- A little birdie told me it's time to meet her.
- Oh, you're bad.
- Hello, Rena!
- Hi! How are you guys?
(Zach): We're doing alright! (Ned): We're excited!
- Yeah, I'm ready to get you guys smashed
and dropped,
and cleared.
(both): Smashed?
- And dropped and cleared?
- Wait, are these, like, this is a real... phrase?
- Yep. These are different badminton techniques.
- The layperson may look at badminton and say,
"That's like tennis, but with a funnier looking ball."
Is that accurate?
- So, it's a sport of opposites.
You have to be really strong, but also very gentle.
You have to be really fast, but also very controlled.
And then, you have to be very athletic,
but also strategic.
So, it's a combination of volleyball, tennis
table tennis,
and chess.
- Chess because what?
It's a mental game?
- Yes, it is.
And compared to tennis,
we actually have the bird in the air
for a longer amount of time.
I think twice as much.
- Right. - Whoa.
- And then, distance-wise,
even though the badminton court is smaller,
we run, actually, a lot more.
So, we cover more distance. (Zach): No! Rena, no!
I don't want to do that! (Ned): How's that possible?
- The whole reason I'm here is 'cause I want to run less!
- That is far from true.
We train, we run 3 to 5 miles.
- But it's much gentler than other racket sports, right?
You're just hitting that shuttlecock, like, nice,
nice and easy. - It's got feathers, it slows down.
- Uh, not at all.
Like, actually, I got hit in the lip before
people can, like, lose their eyes if they get smashed.
- I'm sorry, lose their eyes?
- Well, okay... yeah, you can get damaged pretty hard
if you get hit straight on.
- How fast are we talking?
(Rena): Over 400 kilometres per hour.
So you can get seriously hurt
if you don't know what you're doing.
- That's fast fast. - That's fast, fast.
- That's like race-car fast. - Yeah.
- There's a lot of history.
You know who could help us with this
is our narrator. - The narrator!
- Narrator!
(narrator):
Badminton evolved from an early racket game called
battledore and shuttlecock
which was played without a net.
And sounds like something out of
The recreational game has its roots
in Europe and the Far East.
The game evolved into competitive badminton
some time in the late 1850s
possibly at the Duke of Beaufort's estate
in England called Badminton House.
So, badminton is the only Olympic sport named after
someone's house.
Eventually, British officers
and civil servants began forming badminton clubs
and that's when the sport's popularity really took off.
The first all-England open,
held in 1899,
featured doubles matches
and they were dressed to the nines.
Fabulous!
Men's and women's singles competitions were added in 1900.
Over time, the sport gained massive global appeal,
becoming an official Olympic medal sport in Barcelona, 1992,
where Indonesia dominated the event.
Since then, Olympic badminton has been topped
by just a handful of Asian and European countries
but as the sport continues spreading throughout the world,
so do the medals.
Badminton is now
one of the most popular participation sports on Earth!
Almost as popular as football!
Back to you, Try Guys!
- How do we start? How do we serve?
Like a tennis serve, overhand?
- No, actually, you have to start below the waist.
So, the first serve is a low serve.
You want to serve at the T
and you want to serve diagonally,
cross-court. So--
- You serve the tea.
Zach's always serving tea.
(Rena chuckles)
- Here's the short serve.
(ping!)
(Ned, softly): Wow.
- Just a little "dink!"
- So, you're just keeping it right here and...
boom.
(Ned): It seemed pretty high.
- That's asking for a black eye.
Because the serve was so high that, like--
- They're just gonna... bam! - Yeah.
- Alright, so what's the high serve?
- You go like this...
(whoosh!) (clink!)
(Zach): Oh, yeah! Whoo! - Whoa!
- Whoo-tch!
Whoosh!
Ha! Ha!
- Not bad! (Rena): Not bad, not bad.
- Pretty good? - Yeah. Really good! Really good.
(uptempo music)
So, a clear, it's a defensive shot.
And it's the highest and farthest shot,
to give yourself more time to get ready
or defend.
But it's also a good way to move
your opponents back. (shuttlecock clicking)
Okay, here's the clear.
(Zach): Oh, wow. (Ned): Whoa!
- So you want to push the opponent... in the back.
- Wow, do you hear how-- Oh my god!
- You want to swing forward.
So, as high as you can,
and then, doing that all... as fast as you can.
Yeah. - Now,
I did play this a little in high school gym class so...
watch out.
So, I'm just gonna hit it,
hit it hard, hit it back.
I got this.
(comedic music)
- Oh... - Okay, alright.
Okay. Yeah. Uh-huh.
- Oh. - Uh-huh. Keep going. Yup.
(soft grunt)
- Okay...
- Oh, jeez! - And then...
- Yes, Ned!
(music continues)
- Whoo! Yeah! - Yeah!
- Good job! - That was good!
- So, the next shot I'm gonna show you is a drop.
- Oh, the next shot we want to show you...
is a drop. - Boom!
(Rena chuckles)
- That actually hurt my thighs. - Okay.
- I'm quite sore.
- Opposite to the clear,
that brings your opponent far
into the back of the court.
The drop brings the opponent towards the front of the court.
(funky music)
It looks like this.
(Ned): The amount of control you have to place it
wherever you want it, is amazing!
- Yeah.
- So, the last shot we're gonna learn
is the smash, right?
The most exciting and powerful of all badminton moves.
(Rena): Yes.
This is the shot that,
you know, holds the Guinness Record
for being over 400 kilometres per hour.
Watch out.
(Ned): Whoa! (Zach): We're gonna back up.
- Yeah.
(Rena): For the smash, you can jump to get some height.
And you can put... your back into it.
- My god! There's no way.
- And use the... core. - Whoa.
Alright, now, we're gonna use the radar gun
to see how fast Rena's actually hitting it.
- Go, Rena! Get to 200! - Go, Rena, go!
(grunting) (both): Oh!
- Alright, 120.
Warm up. Ooh!
One forty-five! (Zach): Go, Rena, go!
- One fifty-two! - Get to 200, come on!
(grunting) - Ooh! One ninety-three!
Come on!
- Yeah! - Two-oh-one! Two-oh-one!
Two-oh-one! Let's go! (yelling)
(beep!)
- I think, uh, we throw Zach in, give it a shot.
- Okay.
- I'm just gonna swing as fast
and hard as I can.
What could go wrong?
(Ned): Stalled it.
(growling)
(grunting) - Whoa!
(Ned): Yeah! (Zach): Yes!
(Rena): It went down! (she chuckles)
Nice. (Zach): Ned's got the feel.
(Rena): And... snap it less. (Ned): There it is.
So... uh, my shoulder is... pretty...
pretty tired. (Zach): Tired.
- How long do matches last?
- The matches can go as long as almost two hours sometimes.
- One match?
- And, uh, there's three games in one match.
- Oh! Got it.
- Now, be honest,
whenever you see a fly in the house,
you're like, "Oh! Just you..."
whoosh! - Swat!
(uptempo music)
So, Rena, how long have you been playing badminton?
- I've been playing since the age of 11.
And so, since I'm turning 30 this year,
then, I've been playing for 19 years almost. Yeah.
- Okay, bragging time.
What are some of your accomplishments?
- Yeah, so, I was a gold medallist
at the Junior Pan-Ams two years in a row.
I went to the Olympics when I was 21
and so, at that time,
I was the youngest US badminton player to qualify for the Olympics.
- Does that feel, like, so cool?
- That does.
And, uh, I only pull out my Olympic card
once in a while.
- Wow!
(fast-tempo music)
(Rena): Okay, boys, let's do some target practice now.
- Ooh! - Yeah, okay!
- So, you can try the backhand serve
into the bucket.
(shuttlecock plinks)
- Hey! - Ooh!
- Nope.
(Zach chuckling)
(Ned): Dang. (Zach): No.
First one who gets it in, 10 bucks.
- Okay. You got it. - I kinda need a little fire.
- You want to angle it.
Ooh!
- Ah! I was gonna be so mad!
- Oh!
- Oh! - Whoo!
(overlapping cheering)
- So, we're gonna do some wrist drills
so that you can practice flicking your wrist.
- Ooh.
- This is where I thrive.
I want you to know, I've got little kitty-cat reflexes.
(Rena chuckles): You're just gonna tap the tip of the shuttle
and knock it off. - So, just the tip?
- Yeah, without touching the net, so...
'Cause badminton is all about precision.
- Oh. (Zach): That's fun.
- Yeah!
(Zach): Now, have you ever tried
meowing when you do it?
(chuckling): No, I haven't.
- 'Cause you're like a little cat swatting at the windowsill.
You ready?
- Three, two, one... meow.
- Meow, meow, me-- Oh, I sucked!
(Ned laughing) I sucked at that!
- So, let's do some reflex drills then.
- Meow.
Whoa. Whoa, my god.
Oh my god. Oh my god! (Ned): Oh my god!
(laughter)
- That's terrifying.
- You try to swing as fast as you can
and as hard as you can.
Okay, ready, ready? - Oh, my god.
(uptempo music)
(laughter)
(Rena): Ned!
(Ned grunts) - Guys, we are so cool!
- Go, team!
- That was... that's the most I've ever felt alive.
(Ned exhaling)
- Oh, god, she's back. (Rena): Hey, guys!
Ready for a competition?
- Uh, yes, obviously. - Love that idea.
Super down. - Ready?
- But unfortunately, this is the part of the time in the show
where we learn the rules from...
(all three): The narrator.
(narrator):
In Olympic badminton,
an old-fashioned coin toss still decides who serves first.
And they continue to serve until they lose a point.
For singles, the inside boundaries are used.
And for doubles, it's the outside boundaries.
The server must always hit diagonally,
over the net within the boundaries.
The serve is from the right side on odd points
and the left side for even points.
Once in play, you may only hit the shuttlecock once per side.
And a point is earned
whenever the shuttlecock fails to go over the net
or hits the ground.
(ding!)
An Olympic match is the best of three games.
Each game is played until the winner reaches 21.
However, they must win by two points
or be the first to score 30 points to take the win.
All events begin with group play
with winners advancing to elimination rounds
before finalists ultimately compete in their medal matches.
- Alright, so here's what we're gonna do.
- Uh-huh. - A little two-v.-one match
We're gonna take you on.
- Okay. Bring it. Let's go.
- Oh, she's confident. - She's very confident.
(dramatic music)
(whirring)
(snap)
(thundering)
(whirring and clicking)
(double snap)
(snap)
(creaking)
(dramatic music continues)
- Well, look what we have here.
- Well, well, we-- Farts.
(Ned): Do we look cute?
Do we look good? - Yeah. You do, you do.
(Zach): Are your hands cold?
- No.
- 'Cause you've got some bad mittens.
- Ooh! (Ned): Ooh! Burned.
- Let's talk about how this is gonna work.
The two of us will play against you.
And we get a sixteen-point head start.
- Sounds good to me.
And I have... Alistair Casey here,
USA Badminton Chief of Staff.
(whispering): Oh, no, the big brass.
- But today, he's gonna be our umpire.
- Pleased to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you. - Now, I would hate for there to be any...
funny business in the game today. (Ned): Uh-huh.
- I'm gonna flip a coin to see who serves first.
(rock music)
As you are challengers,
heads or tails?
- Well, we bring the bootie, so...
(both): Tails.
- Tails it is.
- Okay. What do we want to do with that information?
- I think we're gonna serve?
- So, you can choose serve or receive. - I think we'll serve
'cause that might be the last time we serve all game.
- It probably will be. Yep.
- I think we should serve. (both): We'll serve.
- Game on. - Game on!
(dramatic music)
- We have, on my left,
Rena Wang.
And on my right, the Try Guys.
The Try Guys have a 16-0 head start,
(chuckling)
- Yep, yep.
- Play.
(music fades out)
- Alright, I'm gonna do the boop-it-in.
No, I'm not!
(laughter)
- Oh! (Rena): Whoo!
- You got it, Ned!
(Zach): Oh! (Ned): Ah!
- That almost killed me.
- Okay, let's see if you can guess the serve.
- Oh!
(dramatic music)
(Zach): Where is it going?
- Oh! (Ned groans)
- I really suck!
Yes!
Yes, Ned! Yes! - I got it!
Oh, no!
- Dude, we're doing it, though. (overlapping chatter)
(both groaning)
- One.
- Ugh!
(overlapping comments)
- Six.
- Okay, we're still at 10.
(Ned): Yes!
- Oh!
- 10-16.
- Come on, man!
- Ooh!
I got it! Oh...
- Oh!
- Sixteen all.
(sighing and muttering)
- This is tough.
- It's pretty demeaning, I would say.
(Ned sighs) It's on me.
(Alistair): Seventeen, sixteen.
(Zach): That was our moment. (Ned): Shoot.
I got it!
(grunting) (laughter)
(high-pitched groan) - Okay.
Ah!
(Ned): We haven't scored one. We can do this.
- We just need one point. Just one.
Then, we can say, "We scored a point against an Olympian."
- Yeah. Yeah.
- You got two points left. Two serves.
You want to try doing it lefty?
- Okay, I could try.
- This is our moment. - This is our moment!
(suspenseful music)
- That's you.
- Ah!
- Twenty. Match point. Sixteen.
(Ned): Maybe we just have to hit it right at her.
- Yeah, what would she not expect?
- What would she not expect? - A perfect return.
(dramatic music)
(laughter)
- Game, 21-16.
Match won by Rena Wang.
- Well, congratulations.
After a much-contested battle,
it turns out that an Olympian is better than two normal people.
- Yes!
- I understand for sure why this sport is so popular worldwide.
It is fun to play and it is exhilarating to watch.
- It's awesome!
- I'm glad you guys had fun
I know next time
you'll be an even better badminton player.
Most people don't get exposure to high-level badminton,
so I think once they see it, they get inspired
and want to try it.
I hope that in return,
they find the same joy that I find from this sport.
- We had the best day.
And now, I sure am looking forward to watching badminton
at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics!
(Zach): There's nothing like a cold dog on a...
chilly summer morning.
- You're making sizzle sound effects with your mouth?
(Zach hissing)
We had this whole thing.
We brought in a barbecue.
And now, you're completely ruining the illusion?
(Zach hissing)
Do we not have mustard?
- You ready for us to start talking?
- I look like a psychopath with my...
with my bun with no condiments.
(laughter) - You're like me, age 8.
How's that dog tasting? - Oh, it's good.
- Oh, that's good, 'cause this actually is fake.
It's just, we have a steamer underneath.
- Oh, yeah.
- These are cold hotdogs. - Yeah, that's true.