The world is coming to Jalandhar for the Asian Champions Trophy, with hockey teams from all over the world — Japan, Malaysia, China, Bangladesh and Korea, and of course, Harmanpreet Singh’s Asian Games gold medal-winning Indian hockey team — converging on Burlton Park, at the heart of which sprawls the iconic Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium. And Punjabis are responding to the excitement in the only way they know how — with bhangra and raised hockey sticks.Nobody can miss the raised heartbeats in this charged-up atmosphere. Japan’s head coach, Fujimoto Ippei, told mediapersons he was loving it, and had begun experimenting with the few words he has learnt in Punjabi from his friends, like, “Kiddan, theek aa? (How are you, are you okay?)” Bangladesh captain Islam Ashraful added, “The welcome is wonderful and the food is also good.”Malaysian team captain Marhan Jalil said it was his first time in Punjab and that he loved the stadium. He said he hoped that fans would come out in large numbers.As for Harmanpreet Singh, the tournament has brought home a very special personal moment. As for the first time, he said, his father and daughter would watch him play live.This Burlton Park stadium, he told this reporter, was where it all began. He would come to the stadium topractice hockey as a young boy every day, carrying his water bottle and putting in extra hours, he added.“This is going to be a big tournament for us. It is the place where we have grown as players,” Harmanpreet said.Several hoardings bearing the photographs of the captains of all six teams have sprung up all over the city. Road dividers and intersections have been decked up with long Tricolour streamers and lights. The city is hosting the Asian Champions Trophy for the first time. The flags of all six teams have been put up at the stadium, which has undergone a makeover costing over Rs 16 crore. Matches are still two days away, but hockey enthusiasts from all over the state are showing up to catch a glimpse of the players. Many are curious to see how the international players talk, play, practise and warm up ahead of the matches.Young hockey players could be heard asking each other, “Enna nu Punjabi aundi hoyegi? (Can they speak Punjabi?)” as they watch the Chinese players practise. Everyone knows that when the matches begin, only the language of hockey will be all-important, and that will be doing all the talking.