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Saina Nehwal has lost the final of the World Championships to world number one Carolina Marin of Spain.
The Indian second seed lost the 59-minute encounter in two sets with the scoreline reading 21-16, 21-19 in favour of Marin.
However, Saina has still managed to better all previous outings by Indians at the prestigious tournament, winning the country’s first-ever silver.
Four times previously, Indians have managed to medal at the championships, but each time they had settled for a bronze. P V Sindhu clinched the bronze twice in 2013 and 2014 and Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa notched up a bronze in women’s doubles at the 2011 edition. Legendary shuttler Prakash Padukone was the first Indian to win a bronze at the 1983 edition.
With a 3-1 head-to-head record over the Spaniard going into the match, Saina had the edge on paper.
However, the world number one made sure that the scorecard ticked in her favour after breaking away from 7-7 in the first set when Saina sunk an easy return into the net.
Placed comfortably at 11-8 when the lemon break was taken, Carolina made it 15-9 in no time courtesy errors by Saina and some precisely-placed shots from the baseline.
Down 13-20, Saina held on for a few points before Carolina closed out the first game when the Indian hit one wide after 24 minutes.
In the second game, however, the Indian came back strongly to start with, inducing regular errors from the aggressive Spaniard. The Indian led 11-6 at the break, riding on a much improved performance in baseline rallies.
But refusing to be bogged down, Carolina recovered with six back-to-points to make it 12-12.
Locked at 17-17, while Carolina looked consistently fired up, Saina’s body language did not seem very positive as her rival took a 20-18 lead to inch towards her second successive world title.
The inevitable was delayed when Carolina squandered the first Championship point before clinching the second and collapsing on to the floor in sheer joy and relief.
On the other hand, a disappointed Saina walked off the court quietly having missed yet another golden opportunity.
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