The 2021 edition of the biennial event in the Chinese city of Hangzhou was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning this year's Championships is due to be the first since it was held in Qatar's capital Doha in 2019.

Competition is due to be held at the National Stadium from tomorrow until Sunday (July 16).

It is set to mark the first time Thailand has held the Asian Athletics Championships, and this year's event marks the 50^th anniversary of the Asian Athletics Association.

World Athletics President and International Olympic Committee member Sebastian Coe has travelled to Bangkok to mark the occasion.

The event falls just over one month before the World Athletics Championships in Hungary's capital Budapest from August 19 to 27, meaning several of the continent's leading stars are expected to skip the event to focus on their preparations for next month.

It is a busy calendar for Asian athletes this year, with the delayed Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games scheduled for September 23 to October 8.

All 45 medal events are due to be staged on the track and in the field, with no marathon or race walking competitions planned.

Hosts Thailand's team is set to include one of athletics' brightest prospects in 17-year-old Puripol Boonson, who last year ran a personal best of 10.09 seconds in the men's 100 metres.

However, he is returning to fitness after suffering an injury at the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May.

Commonwealth Games men's long jump silver medallist Murali Sreeshankar headlines India's team of 54 athletes, with Olympic men's javelin champion Neeraj Chopra among the stars missing the Asian Championships to train abroad.

Bahrain topped the medals table at the last Asian Athletics Championships with 11 golds, followed by China with 10.