The tournament will be held at the 5,000-seat Hua Mark Indoor Stadium from September 14-18.

According to Pricha Thortrakul, a special advisor to the Taekwondo Association of Thailand (TAT) and deputy chairman of the organising committee, competitors from other countries also wanted to take part, but sent in their entry forms too late.

"Representatives from many countries sent us letters saying they were interested in fielding athletes in the championships. However, we had to reject their requests as the deadline to enter had passed," Pricha said.

"Tight security measures are in place to make sure there is no violence or emergencies during the competition. We also provided residences in different areas for European and American contestants and those from the Middle East.

"The Chinese and Taiwanese also asked us to provide accommodation in different areas."

Of the 242 contestants arriving in Bangkok yesterday, Turkey sent the biggest team of 35. The US have fielded 16, Qatar 15, Norway nine, the Netherlands 14, Italy 18, Iran 30, Guatemala two, Germany 16, Denmark 10, Croatia 24, China 29 and Australia 24.

Thailand will be represented by a strong squad of 12 led by Patiwat Thongsalab, a gold medallist at last year's World University Games, and Yaowapa Boorapolchai, a bronze medallist at the Athens Olympics.

To gain more experience and expertise, the Thai squad trained in Songnam, South Korea, from August 15 to prepare for the championships.

Preechachan

Wiriyanupappong

 The Nation