KARACHI, May 3: Pakistani squash players continue to experience a slump in their world rankings with the country's number one squash player Shahid Zaman falling to No. 24 in the latest list announced by the Professional Squash Association on Wednesday.

Shahid, who is going through a lean patch on the international circuit, dropped two places down from his 22 position of the last month.

Shahid's cousin Mansoor Zaman pushed out of the top 30 list for the first time in recent years when he dropped to No. 32 from 26.

Pakistan number three Khayal Mohammad dropped to No. 48 in the new rankings.

Most of the other Pakistani players in the top-100 list were also pushed down.

Meanwhile, Egypt's Amr Shabana extended his lead at the top of the rankings while two Frenchmen Thierry Lincou and Gregory Gaultier recorded notable rise in the top ten.

Last month, Shabana became the first Egyptian to top the list since the rankings were reintroduced after the lapse of 20 years.

Australia's David Palmer retained second position, France's Thierry Lincou moves up to third place after reaching a semifinal in Bermuda.

Egypt's Karim Darwish returns to the top ten after a five-month gap.

Englishman Lee Beachill slips down to 11, his first time out of the top ten in four years.

A surprise PSA Masters quarterfinal berth for 14th seed Ong Beng Hee takes the 26-year-old Malaysian to 13th place in the May list, just one position behind from national rival Mohammad Azlan Iskandar.

The world's top-20 players:

1-Amr Shabana EGY

2-David Palmer AUS

3-Thierry Lincou FRA

4-James Willstrop ENG

5-Anthony Ricketts AUS

6-Peter Nicol ENG

7-Nick Matthew ENG

8-Gregory Gaultier FRA

9-John White SCO

10-Karim Darwish EGY

11-Lee Beachill ENG

12-Mohd Azlan Iskandar MAS

13-Ong Beng Hee MAS

14-Olli Tuominen FIN

15-Stewart Boswell AUS

16-Adrian Grant ENG

17-Mohammed Abbas EGY

18-Graham Ryding CAN

19-Alex Gough WAL

20-Wael El Hindi EGY

—PPI