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Bengaluru, Sep 26: Kushagra Rawat triumphed in 400m freestyle to bag his fourth gold medal while Srihari Nataraj created a new meet record on his way to gold in 100m backstroke at the Asian Age Group Championship, here on Thursday.

Kushagra clocked 3:55.81s to finish ahead of Taipei's Chang Cheng Li Wei (3:56.82) and Abbas Omar (4:01.52) of Syria.

"The Championships has been good for me so far. I am swimming the 4x200m freestyle relay on Friday and I am confident the Indian team will win the race and I will get my fifth gold medal. I am happy with my timing though I feel I could have done better in 400m and 800m freestyle," he said.

"I was stuck at the 3:56 seconds mark for six months and I am happy that I have broken it, said the elated 19-year-old from New Delhi after winning the race.

Kushagra's idol, Sajan Prakash also made it to the top of the podium in the 200metres butterfly with a time of 2:00.38 seconds. He was followed by Wongcharoen Navaphat (2:01.16) of Thailand and Klzie Ayman (2:02.38) of Syria.

Nataraj enthralled the home crowd with his sensational sprint in the 100m backstroke for open category men. He created a new meet record clocking 55.06 while Atayev Merdan (55.28) from Turkmenistan settled for silver and Lau Shiu Yue (57.56) of Hong Kong won the bronze.

In the most-exciting race of the day, Indian duo of Virdhawal Khade and Natraj were edged out by Khurshidjon Tursunov of Uzbekistan who clocked 50.56 seconds to win the gold. Khade was close behind with a time of 50.68 while Srihari timed 50.91 seconds.

Earlier, the Indian men's 4x100m medley relay team comprising Nataraj, Sajan Prakash, Likith S P and Khade won gold.

The Indian team clocked 3:46.49 seconds to beat Thailand (3:48.89) and Hong Kong (3:53.99) respectively at the Padukone-Dravid Centre of Sports Excellence.

India withstood the challenge posed by Thailand and Hong Kong as they got off to a flying start thanks to Srihari Nataraj (56.55) in backstroke as he finished ahead of Hong Kong's Lau Shiu Yue (57.72) and Thailand's Kasipat Chograthin (58.41).

Sajan, diving in next for the butterfly dash, kept up India's lead with a time of 54.50 seconds while Thailand's Navaphat Wongcharoen clocked 54.50 seconds and Hong Kong's Cheung Yau Ming (56.60).

Likith SP, swimming breast stroke, was excellent as he extended the lead clocking fastest time of 1:02.47 while Thailand's Nuttapong Ketin timed 1:03.69 and Hong Kong's NG Yan Kin clocked 1:05.82 seconds.

Khade, who won gold in the 50m freestyle on Wednesday, ensured the first-place finish. He timed 53.00 seconds while Thailand's Tarit Thongchumsin clocked 52.29 seconds and Hong Kong's Fung Chung Ho 53.85 seconds.

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New Delhi: A Noida-based private University, Galgotias has come under severe criticism after allegedly showcasing a china-made robotic dog at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.

Social media users accused the university of purchasing a commercial robot from China and presenting it as its own creation at the summit.

Reports claimed that the university showcased the Unitree Go2 robotic dog, an AI-powered device available on Chinese platforms for Rs 2–3 lakh, under the name “Orion” during the event in New Delhi.

“So Galgotia university purchased a commercially available robot worth Rs 2.5 lakhs, called it their own and passed it off in the Delhi AI Summit as a part of their 350 crore AI ecosystem..I literally have no words left,” wrote ‘X’ user Roshan Rai, sharing a video in which a DD News reporter interviewed a university official about the robotic dog.

The viral post claimed that the robot closely resembles Unitree Go2, a quadruped robotic dog developed by Chinese company Unitree Robotics.

Screenshots attached to the post compared the robot displayed at the summit with the Unitree Go2 listing, priced at roughly 2,800 dollars (around Rs 2.3–2.5 lakhs).

According Unitree Robotics, The Unitree Go2 is widely used as a programmable quadruped robot for research, education, inspection, and development purposes, and is a common learning platform in universities and robotics labs worldwide.

Several users reiterated the claim.

Government of India funds for filing patents

Meanwhile, concerns were raised about alleged misuse of government funds.

User @sky_phd highlighted, “Galgotias University is once again in the spotlight. Under the guise of research and innovation, they are raking in plenty of money.”

The user claimed that the university took money under government funds, and wrote, “The Government of India provides incentive funding of up to five lakh rupees for filing patents.”

“To understand the patent filing process and the games being played with it, take a look at the list of top Indian institutions filing patents. All the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) together file only 803 patents, while institutions like Lovely Professional University, Jain Deemed-to-be University, Galgotias University, and Teerthanker Mahaveer University have filed more than a thousand patents each,” the user wrote, sharing a chart of patent filings by these universities.

“The basic international patent filing fee is $285–400. Through patent filings alone, these institutions are reportedly earning more than fifty crore rupees annually. However, while these universities file patents, they often do not pursue them further, and most patents ultimately do not get granted. This inflates filing numbers but does not reflect real innovation or recognized intellectual property,” the user added.

Another user pointed out about the selection criteria of the summit. The user questioned, “What exactly was the selection criteria for participation in this AI summit? .”

“Platforms meant to showcase India’s innovation should represent genuine research, original ideas, and credible institutions. So how did Galgotias University qualify to display a Chinese-made robot and present it as its own “innovation”? If true, this isn’t just embarrassing, it undermines the credibility of the entire summit and of India’s growing tech ecosystem. At a time when India is trying to position itself as a global AI and deep-tech leader, showcasing repackaged imports as indigenous innovation only damages trust. If we want the world to take India’s AI ambitions seriously, transparency and authenticity must come first,” the user added.

 

University clarifies after backlash

In response to the criticism, Galgotias University issued a clarification, stating that it “never claimed to have built the device” and that the robot was procured from a Chinese manufacturer for academic purposes.

“Let us be clear, Galgotias has not built this robodog, nor have we claimed to do so. What we are building are minds that will soon design, engineer, and manufacture such technologies in Bharat," the university said.

The university in its statement also pointed out that the Unitree Go2 is being used as a learning tool for students.

“From the US to China and Singapore, we bring advanced technologies to campus because exposure creates vision, and vision creates creators. The robodog is actively being used by students to test capabilities and explore real-world applications,” the university added.

University professor claims “it's developed by the Center of Excellence at the Galgotias University.”

In another video captured by DD News, a reporter showcased the Galgotias University pavilion at the India AI Impact Summit 2026.

At the pavilion, the reporter spoke with the university professor about the technology on display.

The professor introduced the robot, saying, “This is Orion. You need to meet Orion. It has been developed by the Center of Excellence at Galgotias University.”

She added, “I would also like to brief you about Galgotias University. We are the first private university investing more than Rs 350 crore in artificial intelligence and have a dedicated data science and AI lab on campus.”

“Orion has been developed by our Center of Excellence. It can take all shapes and sizes and is quite playful. It can perform small tasks such as surveillance and monitoring. It can even execute movements like moonwalks and somersaults,” she explained.

She also claimed that, “This is India’s first iOS lab in North India at a university, giving our students hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology.”

Reacting to the video social media users ridiculed the 350 cr rupees investment compared to the china made robo dog.

Past Controversies of the University

This is not the first time the university is in controversy. In May 2024, during the Lok Sabha elections, a video went viral showing students protesting outside the Congress headquarters in New Delhi against the party’s manifesto. The footage, captured by Aaj Tak, showed students struggling to articulate the purpose of their protest, raising questions about the demonstration’s intent.

Earlier, in 2017, students protested against the university management after being barred from appearing in exams due to low attendance, with allegations that fines were requested to allow attendance, a claim denied by the administration.

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