Fancy getting off at Dhyan Chand junction in London?

In India, hockey may never surpass cricket in popularity again and Dhyan Chand’s Olympic deeds may have to take a back seat to Sachin’s 100th ton. London, however knows how to confer an honour on India’s ‘wizard’ of Hockey.

According to a Times of India report, Dhyan Chand along with his brother Roop Singh (who was also a part of India’s great hockey teams in early 1930s) and another Indian hockey legend Leslie Walter Claudius will now become household names.

To celebrate the 2012 Olympics, the London transport system has come up with a special ‘Olympic Legends Map,’ renaming 361 tube stations after Olympic legends. Out of these 361 stations only six stops have been named after hockey players, with the three Indians - Dhyan Chand, Roop Singh and Leslie Claudius - cornering the majority.

The Watford Junction has been renamed after Dhyan Chand, Watford High Street has been rechristened after Roop Singh, and Bushey after Claudius.

The only living star among the three, Leslie Claudius was delighted to hear the news. Leslie said  “Kab se rah dekh rahe the… Bachpan mein nahin aya, budhape mein kuch khusi mili (I have been waiting for so long… Didn’t get it in youth, have something to smile about at this age).”

Dhyan Chand’s son Ashok Kumar also told Times of India “It’s great news for Indian hockey. Hockey legends have no value in our country. So it’s indeed heartening. Our gold at the 1948 London Games was like a revival for Indian hockey, for it came after a 12-year gap. We went on to win four more gold after that..”

Many other sports veteran had tube stations rechristened after them. The names in the list include boxer Muhammad Ali, tennis ace Rafael Nadal, athletes Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis, basketball greats Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, and gymnast Nadia Comaneci. The list was drawn by sports writer Alex Trickett and sports historian David Brooks.