Long before Lin Laishram became an actor and entrepreneur, she was an archer until an injury compelled her to take a step back. Today, she is back in the world of the sport — this time as the owner of Prithviraj Yodhas, a team she co-owns with actor and her husband Randeep Hooda in the Archery Premier League (APL). “Archery in India has evolved so much. When I was playing, there were hardly any coaching systems or infrastructure,” she recalls. 

At 10 years of age, Laishram was selected for Tata Archery Academy. But her budding career took an unexpected turn when she, in her teens, developed hyperextension in her right elbow. “It got worse over time. Every time I released the string, my arm would scrape and bleed,” she remembers. It made her pull out of competitive archery. She says, “I had to quit. That was one of the hardest decisions of my life.”