Uchimura, who will bid for an unprecedented sixth straight individual crown on Friday (October 30), came off the high bar early on in his routine, the last of the evening, but was able to recover, scoring 14.466 to secure the gold for his nation, whose team also included Naoto Hayasaka, Kenzo Shirai, Ryohei Kato, Kazuma Kaya and Yusuke Tanaka.

Their total of 270.818 denied the hosts, comprised of Louis Smith, Brinn Bevan, Max Whitlock, Daniel Purvis, Nile Wilson and Kristian Thomas, a shock victory as the British side finished 0.473 adrift on 270.345.

Sublime performances on the last two apparatus gave China, who ultimately fell short in their quest for a seventh consecutive gold, the bronze ahead of Russia on 269.959.

Uchimura scored 91.531 across the six disciplines, the highest individual total of the day, to ensure he finished on top of the podium in a men’s team event at the World Championships for the first time following silver medals in 2010, 2011 and last year in Nanning, China.

“I really wanted to have a perfect performance so I feel really bad for the fall but we won as a team so I am also pleased,” he said.

“Next time I want to be perfect.”

Japan began in ominous fashion as Uchimura’s floor routine scored 15.800, followed by the majestic Shirai, who twisted his way to a total of 16.325 on the apparatus to give his nation the perfect start.

Their chances of taking a first men's title since 1978 took a dent during the fifth rotation, however, as Tanaka came off the parallel bars, but fortunately for their contingent, Uchimura was next up.

He was able to demonstrate exactly why he is considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, delivering an inch-perfect routine to bail out his compatriot, rewarded with 15.866 points.

Just as it looked as though the Japanese would romp to gold in style, Tanaka fell again, this time from the high bar before Uchimura followed suit, prompting stunned gasps of disbelief inside the Arena.

Testament to the ability and sheer class of one of Japan’s most revered athletes, he shrugged off the nerves and blocked out the considerable noise to complete his routine unscathed.

A long delay before Uchimura’s score was revealed served to ramp up the tension even more, but it was worth the wait for Japan as his total proved enough to elevate them to gold and dethroned the defending champions.

In truth, China never appeared likely to retain their title as soon as Xiao fell from the pommel horse, their opening apparatus, but totals of 47.765 and 44.399 on the tricky parallel and high bars respectively sparked a spirited turnaround which eventually earned them bronze.

Britain’s surprise charge towards an astounding success, meanwhile, was gathering speed and they topped the leaderboard before the Japanese star's routine, thanks to the composure of Thomas, Purvis and Whitlock, whose score of 15.766 guaranteed his team a medal, on the floor.

The only question remained was what colour it would be and it turned out to be silver as the Olympic bronze medallists went one better than their female counterparts the previous evening, sealing their own place in the history books with a first-ever men's team World Championships medal.

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