Photo: Courtesy of the Chinese Yachting Association

The National Sailing Championships kicked off in Weifang, East China's Shandong Province on Monday, as more than 170 Chinese athletes competing for berths in the Tokyo 2020 qualifiers. 

This is the first professional national-level sailing event held in China since COVID-19 postponed all sports activities in the country at the beginning of the year. 

As the disciplines of Nacra17, men's 49ers and women's 49ersFX are Olympic events, athletes in these disciplines are competing for the Olympic qualifier berths. 

Zhang Xiaodong, chief of the Chinese Yachting Association, said the ongoing event will be a test of the Chinese athletes' training regimes, many of which were disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

"We hope to provide more opportunities for athletes to train and compete, which will also benefit our preparations not only for Tokyo 2020 but also the Paris 2024 Olympics."

This is the third time that Weifang has hosted a national sailing competition. This year's version also includes windsurfing events, which will be Olympic disciplines at Paris 2024.