Saina with her medal on Sunday. (AFP) See Sport

New Delhi, June 21: Saina Nehwal today became the first Indian to win a Super Series badminton tournament, the game’s equivalent of a tennis Grand Slam title.

The 19-year-old Hyderabadi girl won the Indonesian Open in Jakarta beating world No. 3 Ling Wang of China 12-21, 21-18, 21-9, and is likely to rise three spots to world No. 5.

“It’s a huge achievement. The Super Series is the best tournament after the World Cup and the Olympics. It’s like winning the French Open or the US Open in tennis,” said her coach P. Gopichand, himself an All-England Open champion.

Saina’s achievement is the best by an Indian shuttler since Prakash Padukone and Gopichand won the All-England in 1980 and 2001. Officially, the Badminton World Federation ranks the 13 Super Series tournaments, introduced in 2007, above the All-England which, however, scores because of tradition — much as Wimbledon remains queen of the tennis Grand Slams.

Speaking from Jakarta, Saina said: “I had won international tournaments before but nothing can match this. Winning this tournament gave me immense satisfaction because I chalked up back-to-back victories against two Chinese players. First I beat Lu Ling in the semi-finals and then defeated a higher-ranked Chinese in the final.”

She added: “There is a possibility of my ranking going up to fifth because of today’s victory. My immediate aim is to occupy the third position. But that may not be possible this year. I am planning to grab that place next year.”

Today’s triumph underlines the contrasting trajectories of Saina and Sania Mirza, her fellow Hyderabadi with a similar name who has often overshadowed her in the celebrity stakes. While the tennis player had arrived with a bang at age 18 but has struggled to live up to the hype, Saina has risen steadily after an unobtrusive start.

“It took me quite some time before I could realise what I had achieved,” she said.

Saina, who returns to India on June 28 after the Malaysian Open, had suffered a disappointing quarter-final defeat at the Indian Open in Hyderabad but is hoping to make amends soon.

“Injuries bothered me a lot early this year. Now I am completely fit and looking ahead to play well in the World Cup in Hyderabad in August. I should do well on my home turf,” she said.