Japan clinched its first Thomas Cup title yesterday as it beat Malaysia 3-2 in a hard-fought final in New Delhi.

Takuma Ueda's 21-12, 18-21, 21-17 win over Daren Liew sealed the win for Japan, which had made the final for the first time.

"I was under a lot of pressure due to the support for both teams from the stands," said Ueda, who was cruising at 15-9 in the second game before Liew recovered to stretch the match to three games. "It feels special because everything seemed to be riding on me."

Ueda led from start to finish in the final game and won the match as Liew hit out toward Ueda's forehand.

Ueda threw himself to the ground and pumped his fists lying on his back as the rest of the team rushed onto the court in celebration.

"Badminton is not a big sport in Japan but wins in big tournaments will now get noticed back home," Japan's Korean coach Park Joo-bong said.

Malaysia took the lead through Lee Chong Wei as the world's top-ranked player scored a comfortable 21-12, 21-16 win over fourth-ranked Kenichi Tago. Japan restored parity through its doubles pair of Kenichi Hayakawa and Hiroyuki Endo.

Lee, who could not see his team win back the title after 22 years, said he was happy with the performance. 

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