Egyptian star Amr Shabana topped the world squash rankings with an average of 954.861 points, 135.417 points ahead of second-placed Australian player David Palmer. Shabana replaced Montreal's Jonathon Power at the summit of the rankings in the latest world list that was released by the Pro Squash Association on Monday. The left-handed 26-year-old became the 10th player to top the world rankings since the inaugural rankings were issued over 20 years ago. Shabana broke into the world rankings in July 1998 where he held 38th place and worked his way up until he clinched third spot a couple of months ago. The talented Egyptian, who first showed a promising career finishing runner-up to compatriot Ahmed Faizy in the British U-14 Open in 1993, became Egypt's first winner of the sport's premier title after beating Thierry Lincou, who went on to become the world's top-seed. Shabana claimed his first Tour title in July 1999 after winning the Puebla Open in Mexico. On the other hand, three other Egypt players, Karim Darwish, Mohammed Abbas and Wael El-Hindi made the top-20 list at 11th, 17th and 20th positions.
