Rally driver Onkar donates TV to Nakuru Level Five hospital
Kenyan driver Onkar Rai (left) poses for a photograph with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (right) after winning the WRC 3 division of the 2021 Safari Rally Kenya near Hell’s Gate at Lake Naivasha, Kenya, on June 27, 2021.
What you need to know:
- LG Electronics Corporate Communications Manager Maureen Kemunto. while congratulating Onkar, noted that the company is proud to be a part of an initiative which rewards excellence in sport.
- "Our partnership with SJAK goes a long way in bolstering athletes' talent as well as empowering them to be the backbone of sports in the country. Being an Olympic month, sports personalities are giving their all in their bid to rack up new limits in sport, hence the need to reward their great efforts"
Nakuru-based speedster Onkar Rai will not compete in the next round of KCB Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) set for August 7 and 8.
Speaking Monday at his garage in Nakuru after receiving the LG Sports Personality of the month of June 2021 award following a stellar drive in the iconic WRC Safari Rally Kenya in June, Rai said he still had alot going on and won't be available for the event.
Onkar, who was awarded a 55 inch LG Nanocell TV worth Sh120,000 courtesy of award title sponsors LG Electronics, chose to donate the TV to Nakuru Level Five hospital to create awareness for people with spinal injury.
"It’s such an honour and privilege to be awarded and this really goes to show the hardwork and sacrifices I have put in the sport over the past two years. This could not have come into play were it not for the support system around me and more so my brother Tejveer (Rai) and my dad Jaswant who effortlessly pushed me," said Onkar.
Driving a Volkswagen Polo R5 and navigated by Briton Drew Sturrock, Onkar scored World Rally Championship (WRC) points in a credible seventh overall place.
Onkar, a Safari Priority 3 driver, led the Kenyan trio to a fairy tale top 10 finish against powerful WRC contraptions which returned to the country after a long 19-year hiatus.
Onkar, a former Kenya National Division 2 Champion and three times back-to-back Nakuru Rally winner, beat five other nominees, namely beach volleyball player Brackcides Agala, 100m sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala, middle distance runner Faith Kipyegon, former half marathon world record holder Geoffrey Kamworor and basketballer Medina Okot.
Agala spearheaded Kenya to a maiden women’s beach volleyball Olympic qualification in Morocco, while Omanyala ran a Kenyan national record of 10.02 in the men's 100m to punch his ticket for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in emphatic fashion.
Kipyegon won the women’s 1500m at the Florence Diamond League meeting in a national record of 3:53, while Kamworor was nominated for the coveted award after he booked the Tokyo 2020 spot in 10,000m by winning at Kenyan trials in Kasarani.
School girl Medina Okot was voted Most Valuable Player upon leading Kenya Ports Authority's women basketball team to a deserving 103 -56 victory over Cezoball select women team in the final of the Malawi International basketball tournament.
Onkar joins the growing list of 2021 winners who include tennis superstar Angela Okutoyi (January), basketballer Tylor Okari Ongwae of Kenya Moran's (February), Tokyo Olympics boxer Elly Ajowi (March), World marathon champion Ruth Chepng'etich (April) and Generali Milan Marathon winner Titus Ekiru (May).
LG Electronics Corporate Communications Manager Maureen Kemunto. while congratulating Onkar, noted that the company is proud to be a part of an initiative which rewards excellence in sport.
"Our partnership with SJAK goes a long way in bolstering athletes' talent as well as empowering them to be the backbone of sports in the country. Being an Olympic month, sports personalities are giving their all in their bid to rack up new limits in sport, hence the need to reward their great efforts"
