János Zakopcsán started cycling and skiing in his years at high school. He became acquainted with handball in 1930 and was already a member of the national team by 1932. Due to his foreign-sounding name, he often appeared under the name Zalai, and then in 1935 he changed his surname to Koppány. He won the Hungarian championship five times with the team of Elekromos (1933,1935,1937,1940,1941).
Between 1933 and 1937 he appeared in the Hungarian national team 16 times. In 1936, as a member of the national team, he participated in the Olympics in Berlin.
After completing his career, he worked as a coach for lower-class teams and as a security officer.
Hungary