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Saina Nehwal Becomes World No. 1 In Badminton

Saina Nehwal Becomes World No. 1 In Badminton
In this photograph taken on March 25, 2015, Saina Nehwal of India plays a shot during her women's badminton singles match against Riay Mukherjee of India at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2015 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi. Badminton star Saina Nehwal has shrugged off mounting pressure over whether she will become the first Indian woman ever to clinch the world number one ranking, at the Indian Open in New Delhi. Nehwal, currently number two after reaching the prestigious All-England Championship final this month, is expected to snatch the number one spot if she wins the tournament in front of a home crowd. AFP PHOTO / SAJJAD HUSSAIN (Photo credit should read SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty Images)
SAJJAD HUSSAIN via Getty Images
In this photograph taken on March 25, 2015, Saina Nehwal of India plays a shot during her women's badminton singles match against Riay Mukherjee of India at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2015 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi. Badminton star Saina Nehwal has shrugged off mounting pressure over whether she will become the first Indian woman ever to clinch the world number one ranking, at the Indian Open in New Delhi. Nehwal, currently number two after reaching the prestigious All-England Championship final this month, is expected to snatch the number one spot if she wins the tournament in front of a home crowd. AFP PHOTO / SAJJAD HUSSAIN (Photo credit should read SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Update: Nehwal won the India Open Super Seriesby defeating Intanon (21-16, 21-14) on Sunday.

Saina Nehwal has made history by becoming the first Indian woman to secure the World No. 1 position in badminton.

Nehwal bagged the top spot after the reigning champion Carolina Marin from Spain was beaten by third-seed Ratchanok Intanon from Thailand in the first semifinal of the Indian Open Super Series in Delhi.

Nehwal, 25, also beat Japan's Yui Hashimoto (21-15, 21-11) in the second semifinal at the Siri Fort sports complex on Sunday. Nehwal will play Intanon in the final.

The champion from Hyderabad has won 14 international titles, and she recently reached the finals of the prestigious the All England Championship, but lost out to Marin.

"Everybody dreams of winning the Olympics or the World Championships. I'm one of them. But I want to be relaxed, enjoy my game. Becoming No.1 is a good thing. If it's in my destiny, it will happen," she said before her top spot was confirmed.

On Sunday, Nehwal said that it was a "great day."

World number 1 😊😊😊oh my god it's a great day and really happy to be playing finals tomorrow at india open in Delhi . pic.twitter.com/zPuhTHTTIC

— Saina Nehwal (@NSaina) March 28, 2015

Keep supporting friends thank u all for the love 😊😊

— Saina Nehwal (@NSaina) March 28, 2015

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee congratulated Nehwal on her big victory.

The phenomenal accomplishments of @NSaina make us very proud. I congratulate her on being the World Number 1.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 28, 2015

Congrats Saina Nehwal on becoming World no 1 in Badminton; well deserved honour; best wishes for Indian Open Semi Final #PresidentMukherjee

— President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) March 28, 2015

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.