GLASGOW, Oct 29 — Japan claimed men's team gold for the first time in 37 years amid high drama at the world gymnastics championships yesterday.

Five-time world all-around champion Kohei Uchimura and teammate Yusuke Tanaka both fell off the final apparatus, the high bar, but the Japanese held on to take gold by just 0.473 points on Britain, with reigning six-time champions China taking bronze.

The Japanese scored 270.818 points after the six apparatus — floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar — as Britain took their first world men's team medal with 270.345 and China scoring 269.959.

Uchimura, 26, had given an error-free presentation until the final apparatus but as he began his routine the deafening roar of the crowd on seeing Max Whitlock's score for his floor routine had put Britain in with a chance of the title caused the normally ice cool gymnast to slip off the high bar.

But the Japanese, who lost the title last year to China by just a tenth of a point, held on to claim their sixth men's team gold and first since 1978.

The Chinese had won the past six world team titles and two Olympic golds, with Japan settling for every silver since 2007. — AFP