Jakarta: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal reserved herself a place in the finals of World Badminton Championship.
Saina defeated local favourite Lindaweni Fanetri in straight sets 21-17, 21-17 to enter her maiden World Badminton Championships final.
Saina will now face world no 1 and defending champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the summit clash on Sunday.
Marin came through a war of attrition against Korea’s Sung Ji-hyun to claim a pulsating 21-17, 15-21, 21-16 victory in a marathon encounter on Saturday that ebbed and flowed through a series of momentum shifts.
Earlier on Friday, in a nail-biting one hour 12 minute fight, Saina triumphed 21-15, 19-21, 21-19 against China’s Wang Yihan to make her maiden entry into the semi-finals.
In five earlier attempts, Saina had never crossed the quarters.