The Olympic bronze medallist, Saina became the world number one even before she took the court for the semifinals after her closest competitor Carolina Marin of Spain lost in the other last four match against Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon.
The girl from Hyderabad thrashed Hashimoto 21-15 21-11 in a match that lasted for 43 minutes to set up a title clash with former world champion Hashimoto.
"I want to thank Vimal Sir, my parents for the success. Vimal sir had told me that I will be number one by may. I can't still believe it."
Even before she took the court for the semifinals, news started floating about Saina reaching the number one ranking after her closest rival for the top spot Marin lost to former world champion Intanon.
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