BWF World Championships Highlights: Saina Nehwal Creates History, Storms Into Final

Saina Nehwal defeated Lindaweni Fanetri 21-17, 21-17 to storm into the title clash of BWF World Championships on Saturday. She is the first Indian ever to reach the final of this tournament. Here are the highlights from her semifinal match.

Saina raises her hands and acknowledges the cheer from the sporting crowd which was understandably behind Lindaweni through the game. Even though the scoreline may not reflect it, it was an intense battle between two mismatched opponents.

* Saina wins the 2nd game 21-17 to win the match and book a place in the final against world No. 1 Carolina Marin.

* And Lindaweni comes right back up to make it 14-14. Regardless of the result, she deserves credit for waging a brave war against a much higher-ranked opponent and despite her troubled knee.

* Saina opens up a three-point lead.

* Interestingly, Saina's previous opponent here - Wang Yihan of China - also had a heavily bandaged right knee. She eventually managed to beat Wang 21-15, 19-21, 21-19. Will Lindaweni put mind over matter better and stun the world No. 2? It's 11-11 in the second game.

* Both Saina and Lindaweni making great use of clever flicks and cleverer drop shots to work towards each point. The contest is now a see-saw battle with Lindaweni taking a point's lead.

* Neck and neck battle on currently. Competitive Saina has no reason to go soft on her opponent and the 8-7 scoreline in her favour is reflective of that.

* The Indonesian is showing tremendous spirit. Despite her knee woes, she has managed to hit back and has the lead now at 5-3. Giving up is not an option for her, it appears.

* In the second game, Lindaweni once again goes down. This looks far worse than her two pauses earlier. She could hardly get up for several seconds. The Indonesian however does manage to resume play - trailing 1-2.

* Lindaweni has shown she has the talent but she has also appeared to lack the stamina - in comparison to Saina. Up against one of the biggest stars in badminton, can she find second wind and come back hard?

* Saina switches to top gear effortlessly and races her way to claim the first game 21-17.

* Saina peppered with two amazing smashes. Lindaweni has managed to keep the Indian in her sights and not allowed her to open up a big lead. The score though is 18-17 in favour of the Indian.

* It's back to level terms here with the score on 15-15.

* Lindaweni's coach doing all he can from the sideline to pump the player up. He is shouting encouragement after each point that his player secures. Saina though leads 15-13.

* Saina now creating a gap between her and Lindaweni. She is moving swiftly across her side of the court - something the Indonesian is not doing well anymore. Scoreline is 14-11 in favour of Saina.

* Lindaweni asks for medical assistance once again. This time, the discomfort is clearly written on her face. She adjusts the knee guard and comes back on to face the Indian who is leading 12-10.

* Attacking plays from both shuttlers. Fluid backhands are being complimented well with speedy forehands- badminton at its very best indeed. It's now 9-9.

* Lindeweni opts for a short break as she puts on an additional strap on her already bandaged right knee. She does not look in any visible discomfort and it may well be a precautionary measure.

* A fantastic smash from the Indian puts the scoreline to 6-7. Saina is all pumped up and is clenching her fist after each point. Silencing this crowd will many points on similar lines.

* Lindaweni has opened up a 4-2 lead against Saina. She is extremely quick on her feet even though Saina is known to wear her opponents down before going for the kill. Can she lull Fanteri into a false sense of comfort?

* Saina picks the first point of the first game. The supporters here are right behind Lindaweni. There is unprecedented vocal support for her.

* A packed stadium welcomes Saina and Lindaweni on to the court. The local girl has the majority support obviously but Saina is no alien to pressure.

Saina Nehwal in action at the BWF World Championships

Saina Nehwal, seeded second, defeated sixth seed Wang Yihan of China 21-15, 19-21, 21-19 to make the semifinals of the BWF World Championships for the first time in her career. Saina will clash with local girl Lindaweni Fanetri in the semis today. Lindaweni created a flutter earlier on Friday when she stunned No. 4 seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei 14-21, 22-10, 21-12.

Lindaweni is the first Indonesian to reach the women's singles semifinal at the world championships since the great Susi Susanti in 1995. "It's beyond everybody's expectation, since the women's singles team wasn't given a specific target," Lindaweni said after her win. "I (just) think if I win the match, [it gives me another opportunity] to play better in the next match."

"I am very lucky. It was like a final. It was very special," said Saina after ekeing out a thrilling win over former World No. 1 Wang Yihan.

"It is a first in many ways. So I will want to thank my coaches, my families, parents and my hard work. It is a god gift for me," she added.

Saina said she had a tough draw as she was playing two quality players -- Sayaka Takahashi and Wang Yihan -- in two days at the

"The only thing that I was thinking last two days is that Wang Yihan and me have been playing so many matches and the record is 2-9 and she also won the Chinese Taipei Open, so I was thinking my quarter was really tough as I also had to play Sayaka Takahashi in the second round. She is also a good attacking player and then Wang Yihan, so both the matches were tough for me," she said.

Meanwhile, World No. 1 Carolina Marin defeated Sung Ji Hyun (21-17, 15-21, 21-16) in what was another dominant display of badminton from the Spanish star. Ji Hyun had previously ousted PV Sindhu from the tournament.