LONDON, May 2 Rising Pakistani star Farhan Mehboob jumped two places to a best ever 16th place while France's Gregory Gaultier reclaimed the No 2 slot in the latest PSA Men's World Squash Rankings published here by the Professional Squash Association on Friday.

The 20-year-old from Peshawar made four tour finals in his home country last year, recording title triumphs in the President PSF International and CNS International Squash.

Compatriot Aamir Atlas Khan retains 15th place. Gaultier, moving from fourth position, broke up the Egyptian trio of Karim Darwish, Amr Shabana and Ramy Ashour who occupied the top three places in last month's list.

The 26-year-old from Aix-en-Provence has enjoyed a sensational run on the PSA World Tour since November, reaching the final in six of eight events in a row and lifting the title in the Macau Open and the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions.

In March, Gaultier successfully retained his ATCO Super Series Finals crown, becoming only the third player in history to defend the flagship PSA title.

Karim Darwish moves into his fifth month as world number one, with former world champion Amr Shabana slipping to third and Ramy Ashour, the reigning World Open champion, down to four.

Peter Barker also has much to celebrate as he rose two places to a career-high No7 to become the second-highest-ranked Englishman for the first time.

The 25-year-old left-hander from London secured his 13th and biggest Tour title in March, winning the CIMB KL Open in Malaysia.

But the most impressive achievement in the new top 20 list is made by Egyptian teenager Mohamed El Shorbagy.

The 18-year-old world junior champion from Alexandria, who made a stunning mark on the senior circuit by reaching the quarter-finals of the 2008 Hi-Tec World Open in his maiden appearance in the event as a qualifier, storms into the world top 20 for the first time at No18.

Top 20 rankings

1. Karim Darwish (Egypt); 2. Gregory Gaultier (France); 3. Amr Shabana (Egypt); 4. Ramy Ashour (Egypt); 5. David Palmer (Australia); 6. Nick Matthew (England); 7. Peter Barker (England); 8. Thierry Lincou (France); 9. James Willstrop (England); 10.Wael El Hindi (Egypt); 11. Adrian Grant (England); 12. Borja Golan (Spain); 13. Mohammad Azlan Iskandar (Malaysia); 14. Ong Beng Hee (Malaysia); 15. Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak); 16. Farhan Mehboob (Pak); 17. Alister Walker (England); 18. Mohammed El Shorbagy (Egypt); 19. Laurens Jan Anjema (Netherlands); 20. Stewart Boswell (Australia).—APP