By Alex Hoad

Maidstone decathlete Martin Brockman admits he is facing a tough battle to make the 2011 World Championships in South Korea due to a change in qualifying criteria.

Brockman, pictured, won bronze at October's Commonwealth Games in Delhi, but must reach 8,000 points to qualify for the event in Daegu, which starts in August.

The mark is 300 above the personal best set by the Medway and Maidstone AC athlete in India, and 300 higher than in previous years.

He said: "8,000 looks to be the level I’m going to have to achieve. It is something to take on as a goal but it will be difficult to get there."

A year ago, Brockman’s personal best was 7,255, a figure he improved by almost 500 points at the Commonwealth Games.

"To be honest, I was not that surprised to have increased it by that much," he added.

"It probably should have been higher than that anyway.

"I’m not going to go up another 500 points in 2011, but I think I can get up and around the 8,000 mark. The standard for the 2012 Olympics is likely to be 8,000 or 8,200.

"If I can get close to that now, well in advance of the Games, then I’ll be in a good position."

Brockman will feature in an indoor event in Sheffield on the weekend of January 8-9.

Picture: Clare Green