Indian shuttle queen Saina Nehwal qualified to cross swords again with reigning world and Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain after the two players beat higher ranked Chinese opponents at the Istora Senayan on Saturday.
Saina Nehwal clinched the Indonesia Masters title as Carolina Marin retired hurt during the first game of the final on Sunday.
The eighth-seeded Saina Nehwal lost the first game before she came from behind to take the match in 58 minutes. The 28-year-old from Hyderabad had also reached the finals in the last edition.
Saina, seeded eighth, staged a magnificent rearguard action in narrowly outpointing He Bingjiao, seeded sixth, by an 18-21, 21-12, 21-18 scoreline, while the fifth-ranked Spaniard pipped third-seeded Chen Yufei at the tape by a 17-21, 21-11, 23-21 verdict, after the 20-year-old Chinese had saved six match-points.
In what was the first-ever meeting between the two players, the Indian veteran, who will turn 29 on 17 March, gave the talented Chinese left-hander – who was champion here in 2015 when she was just 17 years old – a lesson in tactics and steely determination with a stout-hearted performance that showed just how much she wanted to excel.
At the time of injury, Marin was leading 10-4. Marin had suffered an injury in her right thigh, which exaggerated to a point where she had to leave the contest midway.
On Saturday, Saina Nehwal had overcome a stern test to beat China's He Bingjiao 18-21, 21-12, 21-18 to enter the women's singles final.
