Shanghai Daily news

Denmark's Michael Maze showcased his steely resolve to Shanghai audiences once again on the penultimate day of the 48th World Table Tennis Championships yesterday, pulling off an epic come-from-behind victory to brush aside another Chinese paddler Hao Shuai and earn himself a spot in the final four of the men's singles event.
The Dane, ranked 19th in the world, fought back from three games and 7-10 down to prevail 5-11, 8-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6, a match that will undoubtedly rank as one of the sport's most astonishing recoveries ever seen at a world championship.
"I was inches away from the end of the game in the fourth game and I was pondering nothing but to enjoy every point left because it was the first time I was in a World Championship quarterfinal," said Maze, who beat the odds to blank third seed Wang Hao 4-0  on Wednesday.
And blocking his path towards the final is another Chinese opponent, second-seeded Ma Lin, a 4-2 quarterfinal winner over teammate Liu Guozheng. If the big Dane gets through, he will take on the winner between local favorite Wang Liqin and Oh Sang-eun of South Korea in the final today.
Wang Liqin saw off teammate Chen Qi 4-2 while Oh snatched a final four berth at the expense of Sweden's Peter Karlsson, whom he also beat 4-2.
Hao, 23, ranked 28th in the world, seemed to have managed to avoid a similar fate as Wang Hao when he led 10-7 in the fourth game after taking the first three. But the Dane canceled out the first match point with a forehand stroke and with desperate defense salvaged the second. The Chinese had the opportunity to make the killer shot on the last match point when Maze slipped on his knees but his forehand topspin finished at the base of the net, giving Maze a reprieve before the Dane won the next two points.
The crowd continued to chant Hao's name down the stretch but the match inevitably slid toward Maze, who displayed a properly-orchestrated mix of lobs, forehand strokes and backhand hits to take the now-expected victory.
"I was invariably nervous throughout the match but I kept up a poker face," said Maze. "I've beaten two Chinese players. It's hard, now I have a third one to play, that's very hard but I'm confident."
And very composed.
Away from the courts, organizers insisted that the Shanghai worlds set the standard for future organizers despite complaints by athletes about distracting conditions in the facilities.
Adham Sharara, president of the International Table Tennis Federation, said yesterday that the extravaganza will be remembered as the best ever.
"It's the biggest world championships in terms of the number of athletes and officials involved and that means huge input by the organizers," said Sharara. "The Chinese don't spare any money in financing the event."
A record 141 associations have been represented at the meet by more than 1,500 paddlers and backroom staff.
No official figure for the budget of the tournament has been released yet but it is believed the renovation of the Shanghai Grand Stage alone cost around 90 million yuan (US$11.25 million).
The state-of-the-art facilities and unprecedented popularity, however, have been marred by complaints about floor conditions and windy air-conditioning, blamed by some players for their below-par performance.
The grievances were spearheaded by defending champion Werner Schlager, who suffered a second-round exit. The Austrian claimed the air-conditioning affected his game in a negative way. He was joined by some other paddlers in complaining, including Wang Liqin.
But Sharara argued that the organizers responded quickly and addressed the problems. "The air-conditioning now is only on between the games and switched off during play," he countered.