Pakistan Noor Zaman has surged into the Top 30 of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) world rankings, reaching a career-best world number 30.
The 21-year-old had previously achieved his highest ranking of 37 on October 27 following a series of international victories. His latest rise comes after an impressive showing at last week’s Karachi Open, where all six Pakistani players competing at the tournament improved their PSA rankings.
Noor delivered a strong performance in the quarterfinals, pushing former world champion Mohamed Elshorbagy to five games before narrowly losing 3-2, a result that ended Pakistan’s run at the international event. The match scoreline stood at 11-2, 11-8, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9 in Elshorbagy’s favor.
Noor is no stranger to elite-level competition. He won the U23 world title at the same venue last year and has built a reputation for resilience, particularly in long, five-game matches.
Pakistan’s only other player in the Top 50, Ashab Irfan, also climbed the rankings, moving up two places to a career-best world number 45.
Veteran campaigner Nasir Iqbal recorded one of the biggest jumps, rising 35 places to world number 99. However, his career-best ranking remains 35, which he achieved in February 2016.
Tayyab Aslam also made notable progress, climbing 50 spots to reach world number 149. His all-time high ranking of 41 was achieved in January 2021.
On the women’s side, Sana Bahadar and Mariam Malik both achieved career-best rankings despite first-round exits. Sana broke into the Top 200 for the first time, rising to world number 197 from her previous best of 212 in January 2023.
Mariam Malik also climbed the rankings, moving up to world number 214 from 248, which she had achieved in January 2023.
