Reigning champions China found themselves just one victory away from the title but spirited displays allowed South Korea to claim their second win after their 2010 triumph.

Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Chen Yufei downed An Se-young 17-21, 21-15, 22-2 in the opening fixture after a gruelling 1 hour 31 minutes showdown in the Impact Arena in Bangkok.

It is now the sixth time that An has lost to Chen in as many meetings.

Rio 2016 bronze medallist Shin Seung-chan helped to level the scores alongside Lee So-hee.

The pair came from a game down against Olympic silver medallists Chen Qingchen and Jia Yi Fan to win 12-21, 21-18, 21-18 in 1hr 18mins.

He Binjiao, who was on China's 2020 Uber Cup-winning side, got her team back on track with a thumping 21-12, 21-13 win against Kim Ga-eun after just 43 minutes.

The win put China within touching distance of a record-extending 16^th title but a swift 22-20, 21-17 win from Kim Hye-jeong and Olympic bronze medallist Kong Hee-yong against Huang Dong Ping and Li Wen Mei forced the tie into a decider.

South Korea's Sim Yu-jin faced off against Wang Zhiyi and took a mammoth first game 28-26 before dropping the second 18-21.

Sim found the killer instinct in the final game to blow her opponent away 21-8 and secure a memorable victory for South Korea.

The final of the Thomas Cup is set to take place tomorrow, also in Bangkok, between Indonesia and India.

Indonesia are looking to retain their title from the 2020 edition in Denmark while India could record a historic first gold medal in the tournament.