Saina in Philippines Open final

New Delhi:

Teenage badminton prodigy Saina Nehwal continued with her sensational form to topple Ai Goto of Japan and reach the women's singles final of the Philippines Open at Pasig City, Manila, on Saturday. Sixteen-year-old Saina, an unseeded player in the tournament, beat Goto 21-19 20-22 21-14 to become the first Indian woman to reach the final in a four-star event. After shocking the top seed and world No. 4 Xu Huaiwen of Germany 12-21 21-17 21-17 in the quarterfinals yesterday, Saina put up another sparkling show to outclass Goto. Seventh seed Julia Xian Pei Wong of Malaysia would face Saina's heat in the final tomorrow. The Hyderabadi shuttler, coached by former All England Badminton champion Pullela Gopichand, has been in stupendous form in the tournament. The 87-ranked player would now see her ranking go up to several notches because of the series of wins against top-ranked opponents. (PTI)