Egyptian Trio In World Top Three Record

Egyptians Amr Shabana, Karim Darwish and Ramy Ashour become the first players from the same country to occupy the top three positions in the Dunlop PSA Men's World Squash Rankings since the world rankings were first produced more than three decades ago.

Amr Shabana, who secured his third successive Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open title last month, celebrates his 33rd month at the top of the December list, published by the Professional Squash Association - and Karim Darwish retains the second place he achieved for the first time last month.

But Ramy Ashour, the 21-year-old from Cairo who claimed his maiden World Open title in October, now rises to third place to compete the historic Egyptian trio.

Frenchman Gregory Gaultier, pushed down to four by Ashour, enjoyed a fruitful November - reaching the Hong Kong Open final, then winning the Macau Open in Macau.

Further significant breakthroughs are achieved further down the list: Englishman Peter Barker rises a single place to record a career-high No9 ranking, while England team-mate Adrian Grant celebrates his highest ranking for four years by moving to a best-ever No11.

Spaniard Borja Golan also continues his relentless rise - this month jumping two places to a career-best 14th place, boosted by his home-town victory in the Santiago Open last month.

But the list's most dramatic success is marked by Pakistanis Aamir Atlas Khan and Farhan Mehboob - both from Peshawar and both nephews of the legendary Jansher Khan.

Atlas Khan, the 18-year-old winner of last month's Pakistan Open in Islamabad, leapt an incredible 15 places to make his top 20 debut at 16. Meanwhile Mehboob, the 20-year-old who beat Khan to win the CNS International in Pakistan - also last month - jumped seven positions to earn his first place in the top 20 at 20.

The pair's success marks the first time this decade that two Pakistanis have featured in the men's world top 20 rankings.

1 [1] Amr Shabana EGY
2 [2] Karim Darwish EGY
3 [4] Ramy Ashour EGY
4 [3] Gregory Gaultier FRA
5 [5] James Willstrop ENG
6 [6] David Palmer AUS
7 [7] Thierry Lincou FRA
8 [8] Wael El Hindi EGY
9 [10] Peter Barker ENG
10 [9] Nick Matthew ENG
11 [13] Adrian Grant ENG
12 [11] Ong Beng Hee MAS
13 [12] Mohd Azlan Iskandar MAS
14 [16] Borja Golan ESP
15 [15] John White SCO
16 [31] Aamir Atlas Khan PAK
17 [14] Laurens Jan Anjema NED
18 [20] Cameron Pilley AUS
19 [17] Stewart Boswell AUS
20 [27] Farhan Mehboob PAK