GLASGOW, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Japan moved into the top flight at the Sudirman Cup in place of Thailand after beating Singapore 3-2 in a close promotion playoff at the world mixed team championships on Friday.

    Thailand lost 3-2 to Chinese Hong Kong earlier to finish bottom at the Division one and will play in the second tier in the next edition of the biennial event in Guangzhou.

    With the match tied 2-2, Thailand were only one point from victory as their women's duo Duanganong Aroonkesorn and Kunchala Voravichitchaikul led 20-19 in the final game of the decisive fifth rubber.

    But Wai Chee Koon and Hoi Wah Chau of Chinese Hong Kong survived the match point before eventually winning the game 21-16,16-21, 22-20.

    Japan went through similar scare when they went into the final women's doubles locked at 2-2 with Singapore.

    Jiang Yanmei and Li Yujia took the first game 21-10 against Kumiko Ogura and Reiko Shiota but the Japanese pair fought back to take the second game 21-14 and held its nerve in the decider to win it 21-13 and made it into the first division.

    Denmark also had to come from behind in the fifth-place playoff with Malaysia.

    Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Lena Frier Kristiansen defeated Wong Pei Tty and Eei Chin Hui 21-19, 21-17 to haul Denmark back from 2-1 down before mixed doubles pair Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Britta Andersen edged out Wee Kiong Tan and Khe Wei Woon 22-20, 21-16 to give the Danes a 3-2 win and the consolation of fifth place.

    Thailand finished their Sudirman Cup journey with four straight defeats and a relegation.

    Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thungthongkam failed to clinch Thailand the first rubber of the mixed doubles, going down 21-19, 17-21, 21-16 to Njoto Albertus Susanto and Koon Wai-chee of Chinese Hong Kong.

    Thai world No 8 Boonsak Ponsana cancelled their opponents' advantage with a convincing 21-4, 21-13 win over Chan Yan-kit in the men's singles before Yip Pui-yin put Chinese Hong Kong ahead again by edging Boonsak's younger sister Salakjit 21-15, 22-20 in the women's singles.

    In the men's doubles, Sudket returned to pair with Phattapol Ngernsrisuk and the duo set the team back on track after battling back from the brink of defeat to beat Indonesian-born Njoto and Yon Hadikuson Wiratama 13-21, 21-18, 21-17.