Sri Lanka Air Force netball teams won both league championships on offer at the 2026 Public Service Netball Tournament, taking the ‘A’ Division and ‘B’ Division league titles, Hiru News reported.
The tournament, organised by the Public Service Netball Association, was played on 16 September at the Valarmathi Grounds in Chavakachcheri, Jaffna. The presentation ceremony and Colours Night followed on 19 September, also in Jaffna.
Champions in the league, runners-up in the knockout
Both Air Force sides produced the same result in both halves of the competition. The ‘A’ team won the ‘A’ Division league championship and finished runner-up in the knockout stage; the ‘B’ team won the ‘B’ Division league championship and was likewise knockout runner-up.
The combined haul is two league championships and two knockout runner-up places.
The symmetry is unusual and points to the format rather than to chance: a league decided on points across a full round of fixtures rewards consistency, while a single-elimination knockout can turn on one match. Winning the former twice and losing the final twice is the signature of two sides that were the strongest over the distance without closing out on the day.
A northern venue
Chavakachcheri sits in the Jaffna peninsula, and hosting the national public service championship there places an all-island inter-departmental competition in the Northern Province. Hiru does not remark on the choice of venue or say whether it rotates.
Not reported
Hiru gives no scores, no opponents, no names of players, coaches or team officials, and does not say who won either knockout final or how many departments and public bodies entered. The report also does not state whether the Air Force fielded men’s or women’s teams — the squad photograph issued with it shows a women’s side.
