Birmingham: Indian badminton sensation and London bronze Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to reach the finals of the prestigious All England Championship with straight sets win over Sun Yu of China in the women’s singles competition on Saturday.
Read: Saina Nehwal scripts history, storms into maiden final
Saina will now face reigning World Champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the finals of the $500,000 tournament on Sunday for a chance at penning down her name in history. The ace shuttler is also just one step away from joining Indian legends Prakash Padukone (1980) and P Gopichand (2001) who have bagged the prestigious title in the past.
Both Saina and Carolina are seeded according to their World ranking, 3rd and 6th respectively and it is fitting to say that both players deserved a place in the finals as the duo overcame strong matches on their way.
Head-to-head record
The Indian and the Spaniard have faced each other just three times and if history is to be believed, there’s no stopping the Indian, who enjoys a 3-0 record over Marin, with the Spaniard taking just a single game in all of those encounters.
They first met back in 2013 in Indonesia, where Saina won 21-16, 21-19. The 24-year-old emerged victorious Down Under at the Star Australian Open in 2014 with the scoreboard reading 21-18, 21-11. However, their most recent fixture was at home in the Syed Modi Championship which turned out to be a close affair as the 21-year-old took the first game and had two match points in the second before Saina stamped her authority in the match and won it 19-21, 25-23, 21-16.
The difference in the two has gradually decreased over time as Carolina gained experience and this time Saina will have to dig deep if she wants to keep her record against the World No. 6 flawless.
Advantage Saina
Although Saina has not dropped a single game throughout the tournament and enjoys a healthy record against the World Champion, one can easily say that the match will be anything but a straight-forward Saina win. Carolina has improved her game tremendously and deservedly awaits the Indian challenge in the final.
However, Saina is known to raise her game on the big occasions and there can be none bigger than the chance to join the illustrious company of Padukone and Gopichand. The lack of a Super Series win in Carolina’s quiver could prove costly for her against Saina, who has won 8 Super Series titles in her career so far. Can Saina Nehwal win this all-important match and create history? India awaits…
The match is scheduled to begin at approximately 6.30 pm IST.
