Ghosal climbs to career-high 15 in squash rankings

Saurav Ghosal's good show in the World Championship propelled him to a career-high 15 in the men's world rankings published today by the Professional Squash Association (PSA).

The 27-year-old from Kolkata has made steady progress on the Tour, winning five titles from eight final appearances.

Ghosal had made history when he became the first Indian ever to reach the world championship quarterfinals in Manchester last month.

Egyptian Amr Shabana has joined the elite group of squash legends to complete an unbroken 10-year run as a top 10 ranked player on the PSA World Tour.

The 34-year-old four-time World Champion climbed one place to ninth in the latest rankings, meaning he joins modern day icons such as David Palmer, Thierry Lincou and Peter Nicol as one of just a handful of players who have maintained a 10-year top 10 presence.

"I feel very fortunate to have had the career path that I did and still be able to compete -- these 10 years went so fast," said Shabana.

"I'll take every day now to the end of my career with great joy and pride. I feel physically and mentally as strong as I have ever been, but have been very unlucky with illnesses and injuries the past two years, so I'm trying to keep my head down and keep at it.

"My ambitions now are to win matches, each one as they come. The depth and standard has increased immensely in the game over the past 10 years -- squash players are without a doubt probably some of the strongest athletes I've personally seen in terms of fitness and conditioning," he added.

Shabana's compatriot Ramy Ashour maintained his place at World No.1, completing a 12-month spell at the top of the table. Frenchman Gregory Gaultier has maintained his World No.2 ranking while 2013 AJ Bell PSA World Squash Champion Nick Matthew of England has moved up one place in the standings to World No.3.