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

For full list – see www.psa-squash.com