The fifth-seeded Indian, who had won the Thailand Open last week, defeated China's Li 13-21 22-20 21-19 in an hour and four minutes to lift her third title of the year -- the first being the Swiss Open.
"It was a really, really tough and I love the crowd here. It's really nice here. Whenever I enter the court, I feel like a champion here," said the world number five 22-year-old, who had earlier clinched this title in 2009 and 2010 and was a runner-up last year.
It was a battle of attrition for Saina against an opponent to whom she had lost four times and won just once -- that too way back in 2010 -- previously.
"It is a very good victory for Saina. It was a tricky situation because we had a very tough schedule. There were many tight matches and it has been a very tough week and what was good is that she kept pushing," national coach Pullela Gopichand told PTI from Jakarta.
"The mental tenacity that she showed all through the last two weeks is commendable because even when she lost a game, she was mentally stubborn," he said.
The start was ominous for Saina as she conceded four successive points. The two players seemed engaged in a battle of smashes and were at par with each other when it came to baseline rallies.
But it was the netplay in which Li enjoyed the upperhand with her delicate winners that Saina found hard to counter in the opening game. MORE
