Though Saina Nehwal emerged victorious in her semi-final encounter against Lindaweni Fanetri, the Indonesian shuttler needs a special mention here as she played with a weak knee and did not give any easy points to the Indian, who defeated the unseeded player in straight sets 21-17, 21-17.
On the other hand, Saina's performance was decent, but could have played much better as she made a number of unforced errors, thus allowing her opponent to come back. This was not the Saina Nehwal one had witnessed against Wang Yihan in the quarter-final, where the Indian looked good in all departments of the game.
However, a dream final awaits in the women's singles, where Saina Nehwal will face Carolina Marin on Sunday. Saina will be eying revenge as the Spaniard had defeated her to clinch the All England Open earlier in the year.
Catch you all tomorrow for another live blog.
5:18: With this victory, Saina Nehwal can finally dream of being a world champion. But she has a tough task ahead of her on Sunday against Carolina Marin, who beat the Indian shuttler during the finals of the All England Open earlier in the year.
5:17: Saina clinches finals berth, as the Indonesian shuttler hits her shot wide and long, Saina wins second set 21-17.
5:15: Saina is one point away from her first world championship final.
5:13: Another smash from Fanetri, but hits the net. Saina, who is inching closer to the finals, lead 19-17.
5:12:Ah!!!that smash from Fanetri is top class down the line. Fanetri trails 16-17.
5:10: As Fanetri is moving well, she is attacking Saina. Saina leads 17-14 after an easy smash.
5:09: Fanetri is coming back gradually as she takes two back-to-back points with the home crowd egging her on. 13-14.
5:07: Saina Nehwal hits a smash down the line and the Indian shuttler seems to be enjoying herself, 12-11 and scores two quick points again. Saina leads 14-11.
5:05: Fanetri, meanwhile, has shown a great heart, playing with a weak knee. The knee wrap explains it all.
5:04: Saina hits an easy shot at the net, which should have been a cakewalk for the Indian.
5:02: 9-9 as another one goes long after a decent rally where both the players move up and down the court. Fanetri is not giving up.
5:01pm: It is like both the players want to hit it long.Saina hits it long and Fanetri pulls back to level 8-8.
5pm: Fanetri hits her smash long and wide. Again returns a serve long and wide. Saina leads 8-6.
4:56:Wonderful play by Fanetri as she draws Saina on the net and opens up the court for a easy shot. Another attempt at drop shot by Fanetri, who fails but the Indonesian still leads 5-4.
4:54: Saina leads 3-2, as she plays a wonderful drop shot and Fanetri just passes a glance at the shuttle. Utter helplessness.
4:52: The scene is not good as Fanetri is struggling to get up after failing to pick Saina's drop shot. Saina leads, 2-1, but the Indonesian comes back with wonderful net play. 2-2
4:50: Ah! what a smash to start the set by Saina, leads 1-0, but Fanetri levels 1-1 after a body smash.
Mexican wave on show in the stands.
4:49: Second set set to kick-start.
4:45: Saina Nehwal takes the first set 21-17 and has looked in decent control. But had Fanetri not been injured, the match could have been much more interesting.
4:43: Saina produces one of her best smash and Fanteri looks clueless. 19-17.
4:42: Powerful smash by Fanetri on Saina's body and the Indian fails to cross the shuttle to the other side. Saina still leads, 18-17.
4:41:Saina takes lead 18-16 as Fanetri tried to make Saina run, but it was wide.
4:39: 16-16 after an amazing cross court not-so-powerful smash by Fanteri.
Fanteri makes a strong comeback. 15-15., but hits a powerful smash at the net. Saina leads 16-15.
4:37: Another wide shot by Saina. 14-13
4:36: Sorry, I am talking mostly about Fanteri's knee, but the match has lost its sheen with such injury. Saina is attacking Fanteri's body with the smash, but it has been going long for more than once. Still, Saina leads 14-12.
4:34: Wow!!! what a rally. Saina pushes her back, brings her to the net sends her left, right and Fanteri's knee does not look any good to get to the shuttle. She again takes a break. Feel pity for the Indonesian, who is struggling. Saina lead 11-10.
4:32: Saina takes lead as Fanteri is made to run around the court. Will she last? Saina Nehwal lead 10-9
4:30:Fanteri is struggling due to the injury. Her movement is hampered. Fanteri's smash goes wide. Saina trail 8-9.
4:29: Things do not look good for Fanteri, as she is treated by the medics for knee injury, but comes back to start the semi final and with a deft lob takes 8-6 lead.
4:28: Saina pushing back Fanteri as much as possible, which is not working. Beautiful mash by second seed, Saina comes back, still trail 5-7.
4:26:Saina making unforced errors in the first set, costs her crucial points and the Indonesian crowd making life tough for the Indian shuttler. Fanetri leads 6-2.
4:24: Fanetri takes 3-1 lead, after Saina resorts to finish the point with a smash, which is long.
4:22: Saina to serve first, wins the first point after a long rally.
4:18: Saina's face says it all - focus, focus and focus, nothing else.
4:16: Fanetri and Saina walk onto the court.
4:13pm: The women's doubles is over and now shortly, Saina Nehwal and Fanteri will walk onto the court and share the big stage for a spot in the finals of the championshiop, which takes place on Sunday.
Finalist Carolina Marin might also be watching the semi final with utmost interest. who does she fancy?
4:10pm: Now, Fanteri is gunning for second seed Saina Nehwal, who has shown top form in the competition.
4:08pm: Ok, for those who are not aware of Saina Nehwal's opponent, Lindaweni Fanetri, she is a top player from Indonesia. Fanetri has been in an incredible form this championship as she has defeated top seeded players, which includes fourth seed Tai Tzu Ying, thirteenth seed Minatsu Mitani and her fellow countrywomen, fifth seed Ratchanok Intanon, who had to leave the court midway during her match due to an injury.
4pm: This tweet should remind us the way Saina Nehwal has carried the Indian flag on her shoulders for years in the badminton circuit and still continues to do so. Though, she has represented India for a number of years, Saina Nehwal is just 25 years old.
The Indian shuttler has plenty of good years ahead of her and fans in India will want a gold medal in this world championship and follow it up with another gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics. It must be Sania's dream as well.
3:50pm: Meanwhile, Saina Nehwal's tweet three hours ago - "Happy Independence Day"
3:45pm: Till then enjoy the pulsating women's doubles semi finals, which will be followed by Saina Nehwal vs Lindaweni Fanetri semi-final.
3:40pm: Saina Nehwal's semi final was originally scheduled to start at 1:30 pm, but with the mixed doubles semi finals and other matches taking much more time than expected, the wait is expected to come to an end soon.
Be patient, folks.
3:30pm IST: We are just around 40-50 minutes away from Saina Nehwal vs Lindaweni Fanetri semi-final. Top seed Carolina Marin has already booked her spot for the finals of the 2015 World Badminton Championship after defeating South Korea's Sung Ji Hyun earlier in the day.
After a brilliant display in the quarter-finals against China's Wang Yihan, Saina Nehwal will head into the semi-finals against local favourite Lindaweni Fanetri in the next few minutes and we will bring you all the live action here.
The monkey is finally off Saina's back as she reached her maiden semi-finals of the world championship. In her previous multiple attempts, Saina Nehwal faltered at the quarter final stage, but she has been more than impressive in the 2015 World Badminton Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Saina's opponent for the semi-final, Lindaweni Fanetri, has been one of the biggest surprises of the competition as she has defeated seeded players en route to the last four. The Indonesian shuttler will be backed by the vociferous home crowd, who will want their local shuttler to reach the finals.
Head-to-Head record
Saina Nehwal 2 Lindaweni Fanetri 1
Last Meeting - Uber Cup : Women's Team Championship
Saina Nehwal defeated Lindaweni Fanetri in straight sets, 21-17 and 21-10.
Will Saina make it 3-1? Does Saina have enough in her tank after a pulsating game against Wang Yihan? Can Saina reach her maiden world championship final? Will the unseeded player continue the trend of beating seeded players? These are moot questions as a potentially thrilling semi-final encounter unfolds.
