SHAOXING, China, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese sprinter Xie Zhenye said on Sunday that the 2020 Chinese National Athletics Championships next week would be an important test for him after a long period of training behind closed doors.

According to the Chinese Athletics Association, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the national championships slated for Sept. 15-18 in Shaoxing, eastern China's Zhejiang province will be the only major event for the athletes in 2020.

"This is the first event at such a high level since the training session, after having trained so long, I think all the athletes will be ready to perform their best at the event," said Xie, the 200m Asian record holder.

The 27-year-old disclosed that he would participate in 100m and 200m, and he expected to get improvements through the event.

"This is the first formal game since the pandemic, to me, it is a test which will provide a reference for my following winter training."