Jakarta: Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal beat Indonesia's Lindaweni Fanetri to become the first Indian to reach the final of the World Badminton Championships here on Saturday.

The World No.2 Hyderabadi shuttler got the better of the Indonesian 21-17, 21-17 in the semifinals of the women's singles. Now Saina will battle it out with with defending champion and World No. 1 Carolina Marin of Spain in the final on Sunday.

Saina had a tough time against Lindaweni, who was playing with an injured right knee, as they engaged in long rallies. It was Lindaweni who opened up a 6-2 lead, but Saina made it 9-9. Thereafter, though Saina kept on taking the lead, Lindaweni fought back for parity, with score reading 15-15 at one stage. Finally, Sania took the first match 21-17.

However, despite the injury, the Indonesian fought hard in the second match as well and everytime Saina took lead, Lindaweni came back from behind. The duo were neck and neck (10-10) before Saina made it 14-11. However, Lindaweni came back strong once again and drew parity 14-14. 

However, Saina prevailed over her rival to take the second match at 21-17.