ITTF Foundation backs two Parkinson’s players for Gangneung 2026

The ITTF Foundation has put its weight behind two players living with Parkinson’s, Christine Knapp and Stefan Sigfridsson, as they prepare for the ITTF World Masters Championships Gangneung 2026. That support matters because it is not framed as symbolism. It is practical backing for two athletes who will travel, compete and represent a version of table tennis that is measured as much by access and persistence as by medals.

For Knapp and Sigfridsson, the stakes go beyond the draw sheet. Competing at a major masters event in Gangneung gives both players a structured target, a training rhythm and a reason to keep sharpening the skills that table tennis demands. In Parkinson’s, that kind of routine is not a side effect. It is part of the intervention. The sport asks for balance, timing, footwork and hand-eye coordination, and those repeated demands are exactly why it continues to matter for players managing a neurodegenerative disease. At the same time, showing up on the international stage gives their effort a visibility that matters too. It tells the rest of the sport that this is not an edge case. It is part of the game.

The campaign is also tied to the legacy of the 2025 World Table Tennis for Health Festival, which gave the Foundation a platform to push the idea that table tennis can do more than fill draws and decide podiums. That legacy is important because it points to something longer term than a one-off event. The Foundation is building an argument that the sport belongs in the health conversation, not just the performance conversation, and that argument is stronger when it is anchored to real players with real travel plans and real competition ahead of them.

Masters events are the right stage for that message. They naturally bring together athletes whose careers are shaped by age, resilience and continued participation, not just elite ranking points. By backing Knapp and Sigfridsson for Gangneung, the Foundation is showing that inclusion can be more than a slogan. It can be travel support, competition access and a pathway for players who use the sport to stay active, stay connected and stay confident. In a sport obsessed with who is on top, this is a reminder that some of the most important work happens far from the final.