The draft amendments to Thailand's anti-doping law have been finished in an effort to end a ban imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said on Tuesday.
Thailand was declared non-compliant by Wada in October after failing to fully implement its 2021 anti-doping code and barred from hosting international football tournaments.
Thai athletes will be allowed to compete in regional, continental and world championships but the national flag will not be flown at any such events, excluding the Olympics and Paralympics.
As a result, the Badminton Association of Thailand flag was raised instead of the Thai national flag during the award-presentation ceremony after mixed doubles stars Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai won their first mixed doubles world championship title at the BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain on Sunday.
Gen Prawit, president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, said that implementing the amendments now depends on parliament.
Gongsak Yodmani, governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), said the process had made considerable progress as the Council of State, the government's legal advisory body, has finished scrutiny of the draft amendments.
The next step will be to present them for consideration by the cabinet by next Tuesday.
Mr Gongsak said it remains to be seen whether the amendments will be enacted as an executive decree that could become effective as early as January.
But if the amendments are issued as a legislative bill, it will have to go through parliamentary procedures and the bill may not become law until February, Mr Gongsak said.
"After the amendments are complete, we will ask Wada to lift the ban. If it's lifted, we will then offer to host competitions," he said.
"We will also appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over Thailand being denied the right to display its national flag," he added.