In a bold tactical move, South Korea split their established world No. 3 women’s doubles pair of Baek Ha Na-Lee So Hee. Instead Baek teamed up with Kim Hye-jeong in a gamble that paid off in the decisive fourth match.

World No 1 women’s singles player An Se-young got the ball rolling for South Korea as she outplayed world No 2 Wang Zhi Yi, 21-10, 21-13 in 47 minutes.

Se-young’s win also continued her dominance in their head-to-head encounters, with 20 victories out of 25 matches played against the Chinese.

China fought back through their formidable world No 1 doubles pair Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning, who restored parity with a solid 21-15, 21-12 victory over Jeong Na-eun-Lee So-hee.

However, South Korea regained the upper hand in the second singles when world No 17 Kim Ga-eun pulled off an upset over world No 4 Chen Yufei 21-19, 21-15 in 55 minutes.

With the title within reach, Ha-na teamed up with Hye-jeong to produce a match-winning display in the doubles, coming from behind to battle past Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian 16-21, 21-10, 21-13, in a hard-fought decider to seal South Korea’s third Uber Cup crown.

As soon as Ha-na’s smash hit the floor to seal the win, the South Korean team stormed the court, mobbing her and Hye-jeong in celebration.