Ramy retains top spot in rankings

LONDON: Egypts Ramy Ashour retained his world number one ranking, according to the new February Dunlop PSA Mens World Squash Rankings published here on Tuesday by the Professional Squash Association (PSA).

Two successive PSA Super Series title successes at the end of last year took the 22-year-old, from Cairo, to the top of the world list for the first time in January.

In spite of losing in the final of the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York last month, Ashour has extended his lead over second-placed Nick Matthew, the Englishman, who finished as runner-up to the Egyptian in Decembers PSA Masters in India and Saudi International in Saudi Arabia.

Ashour is joined at the top by fellow countrymen Amr Shabana and Karim Darwish � the former holding onto the third place and the latter rising to No 4 after a semifinal berth in New York.

But James Willstrop � the Englishman, who beat Darwish, Shabana and Ashour en-route to winning the Tournament of Champions, the first 2010 PSA Super Series event � rises to No 6 in the new list, leapfrogging compatriot Peter Barke