Saina becomes World No. 1

While the official rankings will be out on Thursday, reigning champion Carolina Marin's India Open semifinal loss on Saturday made Saina Nehwal the first Indian woman to reach the top spot.

March 28, 2015 05:30 pm | Updated April 02, 2016 12:44 pm IST - New Delhi

Saina Nehwal, who became World no. 1 after Carolina Marin lost her India Open semifinal on Saturday, plays a forehand smash at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi on Friday.

Saina Nehwal, who became World no. 1 after Carolina Marin lost her India Open semifinal on Saturday, plays a forehand smash at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi on Friday.

Saina Nehwal has what it takes to be World No. 1. She is taking over the top spot from Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui.

Officially, Saina will hold the coveted spot from April 3.

With Li Xuerui — at the top for 119 weeks since December 20, 2012 — choosing not to defend the points earned in reaching the final of the Indian Open last year for being fully fit to defend her Malaysia Open title next week, the ranking points earned by Saina in reaching the final of the Indian Open here on Saturday were enough to overtake the Chinese.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted:

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.