More than 2,000 athletes from 14 countries - Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kuwait, Macao, Malaysia, Oman, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand - will compete in 28 events for 43 gold medals.

The championships, which are a warm-up for Thai athletes competing in the Asian Games in December, will be split into three classes - open, juniors and under-16s and clubs - with the winners in each class receiving the prestigious King's cup.

Thai athletes can participate in the four-day event under their club banners as the Athletics Association of Thailand (AAT) wants them to take on top foreign athletes and gain experience.

"We won't take the results that seriously, but we hope this competition will prove valuable for our national athletes," said AAT secretary-general Pol Maj Gen Surapong Ariyamongkhol.

Surapong also said the national team will compete in several international tournaments before the Asian Games start in Qatar.

One is the first leg of the Asian Grand Prix at the Supachalasai National Stadium on May 18. The second and the third legs will be staged in Bangalore and Pune in India on May 22 and 25, respectively.

The team will also contest the National Grand Prix Series Two and Four in China in May, the Asian Junior Championships at the Thammasat Rangsit Main Stadium in June, the Pattaya Marathon, the Asian Junior Championships and Asian All Star event in July, the IAAF World Junior Championships in China in August and the IAAF World Cup in Greece in September.