Confident Saina Nehwal is eyeing her maiden title at the India Open Super Series as she takes on former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the final today. Catch all the live updates here.
18:31 PM (IST) 20-14 Saina would be gutted with that return. First hits one wide and now one finds the net.
18:29 PM (IST): 19-11 Saina looks comfortable to clinch the first game. Saina's mom in the stands looks delighted as well.
18:27 PM (IST): 17-10 Saina on the attack. Smashing them into Intanon's body.
18:25 PM (IST): 14-10 Typical Saina. Fast hands and smashes it into the open court.
18:23 PM (IST): 12-10 Intanon getting into the game. Looks much more poised than the first half of the game.
18:20 PM (IST): Oh! What a Rally! 12 -7 Intanon getting a move on. 42 shots in the rally and Saina stretched for the first time.
18:17 PM (IST): 11-5 Saina is putting her best foot forward here. Fast and extremely proficient court coverage from the newly crowned world number 1.
18:16 PM (IST): Smashed it! And the war-cry and the clench fist is out as well. Saina all pumped up.
18:15 PM (IST): 7-5 Intanon on the defensive but trying hard to stay abreast with Saina.
18:14 PM (IST): 6-3 Saina is bringing on her power game. Smashing them into Intanon's wrong side and wrong footing her.
18:12 PM (IST): 5-1 Saina into her groove early and making Intanon run around the court.
18:10 PM (IST): 3-0 Intanon trying to hit the spaces but Saina showing some exceptional court coverage.
18:08 PM (IST): And here we go. Saina claims the first point.
18:05 PM (IST): Saina leads the head-to-head 5-3 against Intanon. However, this match won't be a cakewalk for Saina.
18:03 PM (IST): Intanon wins the toss and will serve first.
18: 02 PM (IST): Thailand's Intanon is seeded third in the tournament and is ranked eighth in the world.
18:00 PM (IST): And the players are out on the court. Saina walks out amidst deafening cheers.
17:55 PM (IST): "It is the result of hard work over the years. Last time I became the world no 2 was five years back. I had a lot of good performances in between, stayed at top 5 for sometimes. I think I can enjoy a bit today of the new status" - Saina.
17:51 PM (IST): It's something which is still unbelievable that I am the world no. 1. When I will see myself there in the rankings chart, I can believe it," - Saina Nehwal
17:48 PM (IST): Sania's match is about to start. Here are a few reactions from the number one ranked player after winning her semis - "This is very good seven months for me and I am enjoying it. Playing back-to-back finals at China Open, India Open GP, All England and now at India Open Super Series here, I think it's something very unique."
Saina came into the tournament as world No.2 and was in the race with Carolina Marin to grab the numero uno spot. But the Spaniard's dreams of becoming world No.1 was shattered after the All England champion went down to Intanon in the semi-final, making Saina the first Indian woman to become World No. 1.
The Indian ace has a 5-3 advantage over the world No.8 in career meetings. Saina had defeated Japanese Yui Hashimoto in in the semi-final to advance to final of India Open Super Series for the first time.
Saina will overtake Olympic champion Li Xuerui to become the first non-Chinese woman to be No.1 since December 2010 when Denmark's Tine Baun was the top ranked shuttler.
Saina has revealed she had contemplated "quitting badminton" after last year's world championships. "I have taken some many hard decisions to get here. I kept losing to the top players all the time, in fact after last year's World Championship I even thought of quitting badminton. It was a very dark time in my career. People were saying 'Saina your career is finished'," Saina said. (read more)
Her father Harvir Singh has attributed her daughter's rise to the top of the world rankings to sheer hard work. "She was not getting good results and then she shifted to Bangalore. She was not staying at home. She was striving hard. The coaches and others helped her. We thank the almighty and her supporters for this day," Harvir said. (read More)
Her consistent performance at the international level has even earned praise from cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar hailed her as a "true role model" for aspiring sportspersons. (read more)