The 2015 World Badminton Championship women's singles could not have got any better as the two top seeded shuttlers--Saina Nehwal and Carolina Marin--will battle it out for the title in Jakarta, Indonesia on Sunday.
Click here to follow Saina Nehwal vs Carolina Marin world championship final live blog
This world championship final also brings back memories of the All England Open final, which took place earlier during the year with Saina losing out on the title to Carolina, who has become a major force in badminton.
Carolina Marin, who is the defending champion as well, will be eager to win two back-to-back gold medals in the world championship, but she is aware of the tough competitor in Saina Nehwal.
The Indian shuttler is a mentally strong player as well apart from her skills on the court, which makes her the champion player she is.
Saina Nehwal, who had never progressed beyond the quarter-final stage in the past, can still dream of winning her first world championship, which has eluded her for so many years. The world championship medal is missing from her cabinet of multiple trophies and major medals.
Saina has been in an ominous form in the competition despite a below par performance in the semi-final against Lindaweni Fanetri, who was struggling with a weak knee. Saina might not have been average, but one always expects a top class game from her.
Had Fanetri not suffered an injury, Saina would have found it difficult to reach the final of the world championship.
Noentheless, one should not take anhything away from the victory, which helped her gain entry to the final.
Else, she has been in an amazing form, especially her performance against Wang Yihan in the round of eight was all about quality as she defeated the Chinese in three sets. If she can come up with such quality, even the top seed Carolina will find it difficult to retain her title.
But the top seed has had a bumpy route to the finals, having being stretched to three sets in three of her four matches in the competition. Even in the semi-final against South Korean Sung Ji Hyun, the game was stretched to three sets and Carolina could have faltered, but she came back from 13-8 down to win the deciding set 21-16. She defeated Hyun 21-17, 15-21 and 21-16 to stand a chance of winning yet another major in the badminton circuit.
Carolina did concede later that she was thinking about the score too much, which also made her angry.
"Today I was nervous and angry with myself, as I was constantly thinking of the score," BWF official website quoted her as saying.
"When I was down 8-13 in the third game, I just thought I had to fight hard and do my best. It was a tight match; I'm happy I could fight until the end," Carolina said.
Irrespective of how they have progressed in the competition and their career records, including the head-to-head, the shuttler who plays brilliant in the final of the World Badminton Championship between will win the prestigious gold medal.
Where to Watch Live
The 2015 World Badminton Championship Final is scheduled for 1pm local time (11:30 am IST) and Star Sports 4/HD will offer live coverage for viewers in India with live streaming on starsports.com.
Saina Nehwal vs Carolina Marin Final Live coverage has been scheduled for approximately 1:45pm local time (12:15pm IST).
Viewers around the world can follow the Saina Nehwal vs Carolina Marin Final online on Badminton World TV.
Live scorecard of all the 2015 World Badminton Championship finals can be followed here.
