Saina goes down to Marin in final

Saina Nehwal lost in straight games to badminton World Championships title holder Carolina Marin as her quest to become the first Indian world champion in badminton ended in heartbreak in Jakarta on Sunday.

The world number two Indian went down 16-21, 19-21 in the final to her numero uno nemesis from Spain in a match which lasted 59 minutes. It was the second successive loss in a major final for Saina even though the silver medal she settled for is the best performance by an Indian in the showpiece.

Saina had incidentally lost to the same opponent in the All England Championships final earlier this year.

This was India`s fifth medal at the World Championship after PV 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.