In September 1960, Ni Zhiqin broke the men's high jump national record for the first time with a score of 2.05 meters, two years later, he ranked second in the world high jump with a score of 2.20 meters, and in 1965, Ni Zhiqin ranked first in the men's high jump with a score of 2.25 meters, only 3 centimeters away from the world record. In 1966, at the Asian Emerging Forces Games, Ni Zhiqin won the gold medal for China with a time of 2.27 meters.
On November 8, 1970, in the athletics competition in Changsha, Hunan Province, Ni Zhiqin jumped 2.29 meters, breaking the men's high jump world record of 2.28 meters held by Soviet athlete Brummel, becoming the first Chinese athlete to break the men's high jump world record.
Between 1961 and 1970, Ni Zhiqin set Asian records 13 times, improving from 2.11 meters to 2.29 meters, of which the Asian record of 2.29 meters was maintained for 11 years.
Both the Brockhouse Dictionary of Sport of the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Encyclopedia of Sport include him in one of the character entries. In 1987, at the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the IAAF, the "38 most outstanding athletes in the history of world athletics" were selected, and Ni Zhiqin was listed among them, which was the only athlete in the Chinese mainland to have this honor, and the IAAF permanently recorded Ni Zhiqin in the history of world athletics.